One Night
by findyourlight
Summary: Felicity paces back and forth in her bathroom, fingers playing with each other in front of her stomach and bottom lip pulled between her teeth. How the hell did she get here? She prides herself on being smart - on being a genius. So how in the hell had she ended up here, burning a hole in the floor of her bathroom, waiting for a flimsy plastic stick to tell her if her life is over?
1. Chapter 1

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Felicity paces back and forth in her bathroom, fingers playing with each other in front of her stomach and her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. How the hell did she get here? She prides herself on being smart - on being a _genius,_ actually. Hell, she skipped eighth grade! So how in the hell had she ended up here, burning a hole in the floor of her bathroom, waiting for a flimsy plastic stick to tell her if her life is over?

* * *

 _"So he was using you the entire time?" Iris asked in disbelief, eyes fired up with anger for her friend._

 _"Yup," Felicity sighed. The 'he' Iris was referring to was a guy named Cooper Seldon. They met at one of the few football games her two best friends, Iris and Caitlin, had managed to drag Felicity to, the team they were playing against being from Cooper's school. Somehow the two had gotten to talking, finding out that they shared a mutual talent with computers and a passion for their secret hobby of hacking. Cooper had asked for her number and she had boldly decided to give it to him. For about a month, they spent every weekend together, hacking and coding until their fingers hurt up until she found out that his true motive for wanting to date her was to get her to do coding for him._

 _Iris suddenly stood up from where she was sitting on her bed, "Alright, get up. We're going out."_

 _"What? No," the blonde objected with a groan as her friend grabbed her hands, pulling her up to a sitting position._

 _"Yes! Cooper Seldon is not worthy of your wallowing. C'mon, get up, girly."_

 _"Iris, I really would rather just stay here and force you to watch Doctor Who with me."_

 _Looking through her closet, Iris peered back over her shoulder, "Okay, I've already told you that I don't understand that show. It's Friday night and you need some serious cheering up, so we're going to a party."_

 _"A party? I hate parties."_

 _"I don't care. We're going to dress you up, we're going to have a few drinks, and have a good time. You don't have a choice, I'll drag you by your ponytail if I have to."_

 _"Fine," Felicity relented with a sigh, deciding that maybe her friend was right. Maybe she did need this._

* * *

 _"This is Tommy Merlyn's house. We're at_ Tommy Merlyn's _party?" Felicity took in the large mansion as she stepped out of Iris' Prius, dozens of other cars littering the driveway. People were scattered all over the lawn, talking, laughing, and drinking from the classic red solo cups. She followed Iris up the pavement towards the open front door, tugging at the short hem of the peplum dress she had been forced to wear by her very determined friend._

 _A smirk tugged at the corners of Iris' mouth as she glanced back at the nervous expression on the blonde's face, "Why yes, we are. Relax, Felicity. The whole point of this is to have_ fun _and forget about Pooper Smelldon."_

 _"Pooper Smelldon?" she chuckled. "Did you just come up with that?"_

 _"Yup. Thank the witty reporter in me." Their combined laughter was drowned out as they got closer to the house, the thumping base of the music hitting them as soon as they stepped through the door. "I'm gonna go look for Caitlin and Barry, I told them to meet us here. Wanna go find the keg?" she asked, leaning in closer to Felicity's ear and raising her voice slightly to be heard over the music._

 _She nodded in agreement and they went their separate ways, Felicity in search of wherever the drinks were. She weaved through the crowd into the living room, eyes taking in the high ceilings and expensive decor. She passed by a few familiar faces before coming to the sad realization that she spent way too much time by herself. More than half of these people looked like strangers to her. She was brought back from her thoughts when she bumped against someone's shoulder, babbling an apology before the words died on her lips. Because standing just a few feet ahead of her, leaning up against a wall, was Cooper Seldon. Making out with a leggy brunette._

 _Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, and Felicity cursed herself for the stupid reaction before turning around and practically running through the crowd. No. These people were not about to see her cry. Searching for somewhere to go, she spotted a staircase and made a beeline for it, weaving through the scattered couples sitting and talking on the stairs. When she reached the top landing, she turned right and found herself in a mostly deserted hallway. Heading straight to the first door she saw, she closed her eyes and silently prayed she didn't walk in on something she really didn't want to see._

 _Twisting the handle and opening the door, she was relieved to step into an empty bedroom and closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it. With a solid barrier separating her from the party, dulling the loud music coming from downstairs, Felicity allowed the tears to trail down her cheeks. Why was she even crying? She should be used to rejection by now. This was so stupid. Settling on the edge of the neatly made bed, she wiped at her face with her palms._

 _She was so preoccupied with her self-pitying thoughts that she didn't even hear the door to the connected bathroom open or the soft footsteps until the unknown person spoke up._

 _"What are you doing in here?"_

 _"Holy frack!" Felicity jumped, her head swiveling around with wide eyes and a hand flying up to cover her wildly thumping heart. She exhaled a long breath, not fully realizing who was standing in front of her, "What are you, a ninja? Make some noise next time."_

 _A small smile ticked up the corners of his mouth involuntarily at the babbling blonde, "This is Tommy's room."_

 _"Oh," her mouth opened to form a perfect circle as she took in her surroundings more carefully, noting the various picture frames of Tommy with friends and family, along with other personal belongings. Felicity faced forward again and rubbed at her cheeks roughly, "Sorry, I - I didn't realize…"_

 _"Hey, are you okay?" he took a step closer with furrowed brows._

 _"Yeah, I'm," she huffed, shaking her head, "It's stupid."_

 _He took a seat on the bed beside her and the proximity made Felicity inhale sharply through her nose, his knee brushing against hers. "I'm Oli -"_

 _"- iver Queen. I know who you are," she finished for him, eyes wide in surprise that he was actually talking to her right now._

 _The corners of his mouth twitched again slightly, "Yeah. Your… Your name is Felicity, right?"_

 _Her mouth fell open in a perfect 'O' shape._ What? He knows my name? _"Um, yeah. Felicity Smoak. How - how did you know that? I'm a junior and you're_ Oliver Queen."

 _Now an actual laugh bubbled past Oliver's lips at her tone, lifting a hand to scratch lightly at the back of his neck before tilting his head to face her with his signature grin in place. "Well, we've gone to school together for several years and contrary to popular belief, I'm not_ that _self-involved."_

 _"I wasn't - I mean, I didn't mean to imply… Not - not that I would know, I don't really know you at all. I think this is the first time we've ever talked for more than five seconds. Or at all. Not that I think that you think you're better than me! I just - I -" she stammered._

 _"Felicity," he chuckled softly as she abruptly smacked her lips shut, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment._

 _She tried to ignore the way her stomach fluttered as her name rolled off his tongue. "Sorry."_

 _His eyes narrowed slightly at the drying tear tracks on her face and his voice softened, repeating his earlier question, "Are you okay?"_

 _Felicity sighed, lifting a hand to tuck a fallen strand of blonde hair behind her ear, "It's okay, you don't… You don't want to hear about my problems."_

 _"Try me."_

 _She looked to him again in surprise at the genuine interest coloring his features. Why was he talking to her? He doesn't even know her. And even if he did, he's Oliver_ fracking _Queen. And she's… no one. "Okay. Um," she glanced down at her lap where her fingers fiddled with each other. She shrugged a shoulder weakly, "It's this guy. He broke up with me cause he was just using me the whole time and… I saw him here with someone else. Like I said, it's stupid."_

 _Oliver reached out a hand and placed it gently on the bare skin of her knee. It wasn't particularly high up on her thigh, so it should be completely innocent. But for some reason, it wasn't. The weight of his hand felt heavy and hot on her skin making her cheeks flush. His eyes traced the blush down her neck where it disappeared underneath the fabric of her dress. "It's not stupid. He's an idiot. Obviously, he doesn't know a good thing when it's right in front of him."_

 _She choked out a laugh, sending him a hard side eye. "Yeah, okay. I should've known he was just using me for my talented fingers." Realizing what she just said, she whipped her head towards him with wide eyes. "I mean with typing! I'm - I'm good with computers. Not… Not anything else…" Felicity tilted her head to meet his eyes, unable to stop them from traveling over his face and to his mouth where a smile ghosted over his lips at her words. Apparently, she really was stupid because what she decided to do in that moment was probably the dumbest thing she had ever done._

 _Surging forward, she connected her lips with Oliver's for a few seconds before coming back to her senses and pulling away with wide eyes, completely mortified at what she'd done. "Oh my god. I am so sorry, I have no idea why I did that. God, could this night get any more embarrassing? I just assaulted Oliver fracking Queen!" Hers eyes widened even more, if possible, "And, oh my god. You have a girlfriend!"_

 _"Actually, Laurel and I broke up," he supplied quickly, and she let out a slight breath at the information but was still blushing in embarrassment._

 _Chuckling softly, he peeled Felicity's hands away from where she'd buried her face into them and lifted a finger under her chin. He tilted it up so he could meet her eyes, "Did you have anything to drink tonight?"_

 _She gulped, noticing his crystal blue eyes have darkened within the last few seconds of their exchange. Not trusting her voice right now, she shook her head because no, she hadn't even gotten to what was supposed to be the fun part of tonight before seeing Cooper. She was pulled from those thoughts when Oliver moved his hand to cradle her cheek and began to lean closer until their mouths met once more. Her eyes fluttered shut as she surrendered herself to the kiss after only a few seconds of hesitation, this kiss being unlike anything she'd ever felt before. True, she'd only ever kissed two boys in her life - three, now - but never like this. Especially not when Oliver's tongue licked along the seam of her lips, begging for entrance._

 _Felicity allowed him to deepen the kiss and lifted a hand to the back of his neck, threading her fingers through the short strands of hair. He placed his own hand on her waist, tugging her closer until she was almost sitting on his lap. He used the hand still on her cheek to tilt her head back to deepen the kiss even more as he started to shift closer to the headboard and lay her down. Body underneath his, she adjusted her legs automatically so he could settle between them. His fingers traveled from her waist down to the bare skin of her creamy thighs and back up, only this time they brushed underneath the hem of her light blue dress._

 _Pulling her head back slightly, she fought to catch her breath as a hand flew down to grasp his wrist where it disappeared under the fabric of her dress, "Wait."_

 _Furrowing his brows, Oliver moved his hand a few inches away, "What's wrong?"_

 _"Nothing, I just… I'm not as… I mean, I've never… done anything… before," she stumbled, her voice quieting with each word and her eyes flitting to stare at his chin instead of into his distracting blue eyes._

 _"Oh," he breathed out, backing away slightly. "That's okay. I mean, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do or -"_

 _"No!" she interrupted quickly, eyes widening at herself. In the following silence, Felicity thought about what she could do right now. Option one: she could push him off her and go back to the party. Option two: she could continue to make out with him for a while and then go back to the party. Or option three: she could have sex with Oliver Queen, right here, right now. She could stop living her life on the outside and finally -_ finally _\- take a risk and do something that she wanted to do. She shifted underneath him and felt the impressive bulge in his jeans press against her leg. Yup. Option three it was, then. Felicity inhaled deeply through her nose, shifting her eyes to connect with his, "I mean, I want to. I just… I don't want you to be disappointed."_ Like everyone else in my life, _she finished silently._

 _A grin tugged at the corners of Oliver's mouth and he lowered himself back down until he was flush against her body. "Don't worry," he whispered and leaned in, lips barely brushing against hers, "I'll go slow."_

* * *

Felicity paces back and forth in her bathroom, fingers playing with each other in front of her stomach and her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. How the hell did she get here? She prides herself on being smart - on being a _genius,_ actually. Hell, she skipped eighth grade! So how in the hell had she ended up here, burning a hole in the floor of her bathroom, waiting for a flimsy plastic stick to tell her if her life is over?

Of course, she knows how she got here. One night. One night, she decided to be reckless and live a little, do something for herself. And now she is paying for it. It was just _one night…_

The timer on her phone going off, Felicity rushes to the counter to turn it off with trembling fingers before moving towards the sink and leaning over so she can read the results. When the two pink lines come into view, her heart plummets into her stomach.

She's pregnant.


	2. Chapter 2

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Exchanging his books, Oliver checks the time on his cell phone before groaning, realizing that the school day is barely half over. He hears his name called and turns, nodding in hello at some of his friends walking past him on their way to class.

As he turns back to face his locker, a sleek, blonde ponytail catches his eye. His gaze lands on a familiar girl standing at her locker. _Felicity._ Uncharacteristically, he's been unable to get her out of his thoughts since Tommy's party, memories of that night clouding his mind.

* * *

 _Oliver rounded the corner, weaving through the quickly building crowd, which wasn't surprising - everyone at school wanted to get into a Queen or Merlyn party. Speaking of, where was his best friend? His eyes searched for the familiar face when he felt a body curl up against his side, two small hands wrapping around his bicep. Tilting his head, he spotted bright red hair and met a pair of familiar blue eyes. "Carrie," he grinned._

 _"Hi Ollie," she purred, fluttering her lashes at him, "I've been looking everywhere for you." Carrie Cutter was a cheerleader at school and someone who he'd fooled around with in the past while on one of his numerous breaks with Laurel._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _Carrie bit her crimson painted bottom lip between her teeth and nodded, "Mmhmm. I wanted your opinion on my dress. Do you like it?"_

 _The way she leaned into him offered the perfect view down her already low cut dress, and he couldn't stop his eyes from following the slopes of her cleavage appreciatively. Oliver was forced to drag his look away from her when he heard a familiar voice screech his name. He sighed and put a step's distance between himself and the redhead. Plastering a smile on his face, he pivoted on his heels to find his girlfriend storming towards him like a woman on a mission, "Hey Laurel."_

 _When Laurel reached them, the brunette placed a hand on her hip and glared at the other girl. "Carrie."_

 _"Hi, Laurel. You look… cute," Carrie forced a smile, not removing her hands from Oliver._

 _Laurel eyed where the girl was still touching him and arched a perfectly manicured brow, "Would you mind giving me a moment alone with my boyfriend? Thanks."_

 _Barely suppressing an eye roll, Carrie flashed Oliver a grin before wandering off into the party. He was unable to stop himself from watching her go, eyes travelling down to observe the sway of her hips when he felt a hand smack against his chest. "Ow!" he turned back with a glare._

 _Scoffing, Laurel rolled her eyes, "Are you serious? You were flirting with her right in front of me, Ollie."_

 _"Okay, she came up and started flirting with me."_

 _"And you were flirting back! And you just checked out her ass as she walked away. Does our relationship really mean that little to you?"_

 _Oliver sighed, bringing up a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. "Laurel, can we not do this tonight? I love you, you know that."_

 _"Do I?"_

 _"I'm not having this fight again. Are you gonna have fun and dance with me or not?" he raised a brow in question._

 _She scoffed again, "You are unbelievable." Laurel spun on her heels and stomped off to meet up with her friends, the girls immediately comforting her having witnessed their argument._

 _Dragging both hands over his face, Oliver groaned in irritation and made his way towards the staircase, walking the familiar path to his best friend's bedroom. Once inside, he headed into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. God, these fights with Laurel were getting so old. Though, he couldn't really say he didn't deserve her anger - he_ had _been blatantly flirting with another girl at the same party where he knew his girlfriend was. And the truth was, he never knew why he did it. A part of him hoped that Laurel would dump him - which she did, but every single time she wanted him back. It was like he couldn't escape no matter how much he hurt her, and he hated hurting her - he wasn't lying when he said he loved her. Honestly, he just didn't even understand_ himself _at this point._

 _Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the nearest towel and dried off his face before opening the door. He stepped out of the bathroom and began moving towards the door until he noticed a form sitting on the bed, long blonde waves cascading down her back. He took a step closer to her, "What are you doing in here?"_

 _"Holy frack!" the girl jumped and turned to face him with wide eyes, a hand covering her chest. Once she steadied her breathing, she spoke again, "What are you, a ninja? Make some noise next time."_

 _A small smile ticked up the corners of Oliver's mouth involuntarily, "This is Tommy's room."_

 _"Oh," her mouth fell open as she gazed around the room, eyes lingering on the numerous picture frames of Tommy with the Queens. She turned away from him and stared at her lap, rubbing at her cheeks, "Sorry, I - I didn't realize…"_

 _Oliver's brows drew together as he realized she was crying and he took a step closer, "Hey, are you okay?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm," she huffed and shook her head, still avoiding making eye contact, "It's stupid."_

 _He took a seat on the bed beside her and heard her inhale when his knee brushed against her bare leg. When she didn't say anything else, he leaned a shoulder in slightly, "I'm Oli -"_

 _"- iver Queen. I know who you are," she finished for him, looking at him with surprised eyes._

 _The corners of his mouth twitched again and he narrowed his eyes a bit, finally recognizing her from school. He never realized how cute she was. "Yeah. Your… Your name is Felicity, right?"_

 _Her mouth fell open in a perfect 'O' shape. "Um, yeah. Felicity Smoak. How - how did you know that? I'm a junior and you're_ Oliver Queen."

 _Now an actual laugh bubbled past his lips at her disbelieving tone and he lifted a hand to scratch lightly at the back of his neck, tilting his head and plastering on his signature grin. "Well, we've gone to school together for several years and contrary to popular belief, I'm not_ that _self-involved."_

 _"I wasn't - I mean, I didn't mean to imply… Not - not that I would know, I don't really know you at all. I think this is the first time we've ever talked for more than five seconds. Or at all. Not that I think that you think you're better than me! I just - I -" she struggled with her words._

 _Wow, she was even cuter when she babbled. How had he never spoken to her before? Well, probably because she was kind of a nerd and never came to parties. He chuckled, "Felicity." His eyes softened when she smacked her lips shut and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment._

 _"Sorry."_

 _Again noticing the trails on her cheeks, he narrowed his eyes and repeated his earlier question, "Are you okay?"_

 _Felicity sighed and tucked a fallen strand of blonde hair behind her ear, and he startled at the way he suddenly wanted to be the one to brush away the silky strands. "It's okay, you don't… You don't want to hear about my problems."_

 _"Try me," he bumped his shoulder against hers in encouragement, surprised to find he was genuinely interested in what she had to say._

 _After a few seconds contemplating him silently, she spoke, "Okay. Um," she glanced down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers and he resisted the urge to tangle them in his. She shrugged weakly, "It's this guy. He broke up with me cause he was just using me the whole time and… I saw him here with someone else. Like I said, it's stupid."_

 _He couldn't resist any longer and reached out a hand, placing it gently on the bare skin of her knee, immediately noticing the blush on her skin and tracing it where it disappeared underneath the fabric of her dress and wanting nothing more than to feel the heat of it with his lips. "It's not stupid. He's an idiot," he assured emphatically, "Obviously, he doesn't know a good thing when it's right in front of him."_

 _She choked out a laugh and glared out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, okay. I should've known he was just using me for my talented fingers." His breath hitched at her words and a slow smile crept up on his face, her own eyes widening dramatically. "I mean with typing! I'm - I'm good with computers. Not… Not anything else…"_

 _Felicity tilted her head and he watched as her eyes traveled down to his lips. He stuck out his tongue to wet them, sensing what she was about to do. His suspicions were only confirmed when she bravely surged forward, connecting their lips. He was disappointed when the kiss only lasted a few seconds, not even giving him a chance to react before she pulled away with wide eyes._

 _"Oh my god. I am so sorry, I have no idea why I did that. God, could this night get any more embarrassing? I just assaulted Oliver fracking Queen!" He struggled to hold in a laugh as she continued to panic. "And, oh my god. You have a girlfriend!"_

 _"Actually, Laurel and I broke up."_ Lie. Absolute and total lie. _Ignoring the nagging thought in the back of his mind, Oliver chuckled softly and peeled her hands away from where she'd buried her face into them, lifting a finger under her chin. He tilted it up so she could meet his gaze, "Did you have anything to drink tonight?" He always made sure to ask that question before hooking up with anyone. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of unsuspecting girls; he wasn't_ that _big of a douche._

 _She gulped, her own cerulean eyes darkening as much as his. Silently, Felicity shook her head and he slid his hand to palm her cheek, leaning closer until their mouths connected. He waited to close his eyes until she closed hers, deepening the kiss by swiping his tongue along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth to him, and he felt her fingers tangle through the short hair at the back of his neck. Placing his other hand on her waist, he tugged her closer until she was basically sitting in his lap. He tilted her head back, deepening the kiss even more as he started to shift closer to the head of the bed and lay her down. Her legs opened and he settled between them, his fingers traveling down to the creamy skin of her thighs and back up, delving underneath the hem of her light blue dress._

 _She tilted her head back slightly and was breathing hard as her hand grasped his wrist where it disappeared from view, "Wait."_

 _He furrowed his brows and moved his hand back, worried she might be reconsidering, "What's wrong?"_

 _"Nothing, I just… I'm not as… I mean, I've never… done anything… before," she babbled with a quiet voice, eyes vehemently avoiding his._

 _"Oh," he breathed out, backing away slightly. So, she's a virgin… "That's okay. I mean, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do or -"_

 _"No!" she interrupted quickly, eyes widening. After a few moments of awkward silence, Felicity inhaled deeply through her nose and finally met his eyes again, "I mean, I want to. I just… I don't want you to be disappointed."_

 _Damn, she got cuter by the second. A grin tugged at the corners of Oliver's mouth and he lowered himself until he was laying flush against her body. "Don't worry," he whispered and leaned in, lips barely brushing against hers, "I'll go slow."_

* * *

As he turns back to face his locker, a sleek, blonde ponytail catches his eye. His gaze lands on a familiar girl standing at her locker. _Felicity._ Uncharacteristically, he's been unable to get her out of his thoughts since Tommy's party, memories of that night clouding his mind.

A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth as he stares at her in silent admiration, watching as she brings a hand to push her glasses up her nose. Suddenly, Felicity tilts her head and meets his gaze, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. She visibly gulps and looks away, slamming her locker closed and almost running off in the other direction of the hallway.

Sighing, Oliver shuts his locker and is about to pick up and sling his backpack over his shoulder when he feels two arms band around his waist and a chin rest on his shoulder. He tilts his head to the side until his eyes land on Laurel Lance, a pout on her lips as she sends him her famous puppy dog eyes. They haven't actually talked since their fight almost two weeks ago.

"I'm sorry about Tommy's party," she speaks, fluttering her long lashes.

He spins in her arms, wrapping his own around her waist and arching a brow at his girlfriend, "Me too." The double meaning behind his words is lost on her, unknowing of his infidelity. He clarifies, "I shouldn't have let Carrie flirt with me."

"I shouldn't have freaked out on you. I was just jealous."

The corners of his mouth tick up, "Yeah?" She nods and leans up on her tiptoes to connect their mouths, smiling into the kiss. Oliver opens his mouth and gives himself over to her completely, all thoughts of a certain blonde flying from his brain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Turning off the faucet, Felicity finishes brushing her teeth after trying to get the taste of morning sickness out of her mouth for a solid five minutes. She stares at her reflection in the mirror, still noticing the dark circles under her eyes that she desperately tried to cover with make-up. Obviously, her lack of sleep the past few nights is beginning to take its toll. _That can't be good for the b_ a – she immediately cuts off her own train of thought, shutting her eyes tightly behind her glasses and inhaling a few calming breaths. She's known about the pregnancy for almost a week now and it still hasn't become any easier to process. She's _pregnant,_ at sixteen, by a guy she doesn't even know – a guy who is notorious for being a rich party boy that hooks up with anything that has boobs. She was supposed to be smarter than this.

Her eyes open when her mother's voice calls her name from somewhere else in the house and she gives herself one last once over before exiting the bathroom and trudging down the stairs.

"There you are," Donna Smoak sends a quick smile over her shoulder at her daughter when she enters the kitchen before going back to her task of making a smoothie for her daily morning yoga class, clothes clinging tightly to her body, "Your breakfast is on the table."

Felicity eyes the plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit, forcing herself to look away and suppress the urge to breathe through her nose when her stomach turns from the smell. She immediately moves to grab her backpack, "I um… I'm running late."

"Baby girl, you need to eat something. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Donna chirps, facing the younger blonde with a wide grin. The smile falls when she takes in her appearance and steps closer, "Oh baby girl, are you sick? You should really stay home if you aren't feeling well."

"I'm fine!" Felicity answers quickly. "I mean, I'm just a little tired. But I really am running late. I'll get something to eat at school."

"Alright. Promise?"

"I promise," she nods with a tight smile.

"Okay," Donna accepts her answer and goes back to preparing her fruity drink, "Have a great day at school, baby girl. Love you!"

"Love you too," Felicity calls before leaving out the front door and starting her walk to school, enjoying the light breeze. She really hates lying to her mom, but there is no way she can tell her parents the truth about what is going on with her. Especially her father. Noah Smoak would have a heart attack if he found out that his only daughter had gotten herself pregnant at sixteen, and by a random guy at school no less. Well, not entirely random. Oliver _fracking_ Queen. She shudders at the thought of the boy who had taken her virginity, shudders at the thought of having to tell him about the ba – about what is happening. He would probably freak out - call her a liar, accuse her of trying to get his family's money or _something._ Would he even remember her? He would probably demand to know what she was going to do, and Felicity would have no idea how to answer him.

What is she going to _do?_ She is sixteen, she can't handle this! Tears spring to her eyes as she thinks about what this could mean for her future. This isn't supposed to be her life; she isn't supposed to be just another _statistic._ She is supposed to graduate early, go to MIT, and double major in cybersecurity and computer science so she can get a job at some large corporation, allowing her to eventually start her own company. But none of that will be possible if she becomes a single teenage mother. What _the_ _hell_ is she going to do?

Being so involved in her own head, Felicity startles when she realizes that she is already at school, having walked the familiar route without even a second thought. Making her way inside the doors, she heads straight to her locker, her eyes never leaving the floor. Once there, she starts slowly exchanging her books for her morning classes - all AP, of course. Her eyes flit around the crowd nervously, fingers tugging at the hem of her sweater. Even though there is nothing to cover, her stomach still appearing to be as flat as it usually is, Felicity can't help the nagging thought that somehow, everyone just knows. That's exactly why she'd chosen a looser top when picking out her outfit this morning.

Sighing, she tries to shake the thoughts from her mind, knowing that she is being crazy and paranoid. The warning bell rings and she is thankful that her single study hall period happens to be the first hour of the day, allowing her to usually spend the time studying or tutoring in the library. Luckily, she doesn't have any tutoring sessions on Mondays yet since it is still relatively early in the school year so she can use this time to herself to maybe try and figure some things out. God knows she needs to. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Felicity shuts her locker and begins shuffling her way through the students rushing to get to class and towards the library. She rounds a corner and stops dead in her tracks, her face paling at the sight in front of her.

It's him - Oliver _fracking_ Queen. And he isn't alone. No, he is leaning against a locker with his arms wrapped low around the waist of the one and only Gorgeous Laurel Lance, his mouth melded against hers in a heated kiss. Felicity's mind reels, realizing that he had so obviously lied about he and Laurel being broken up. _Oh god._ She… she was a _cheater._ And not only did she cheat with someone else's boyfriend, but she got _pregnant._ Oh god.

A hand flies to her mouth as her stomach churns and bile rises up the back of her throat before Felicity makes a beeline for the nearest bathroom. As soon as she makes it inside, she runs into the first stall, tossing her bag beside her and throwing herself to the ground just in time to retch into the toilet. She gags, her empty stomach convulsing painfully. After a few more moments of dry heaving, her stomach finally settles a little and she exhales shakily, not even hearing the bathroom door open and close, or the light clacking of footsteps. She jumps slightly where she sits on the tiled floor when someone knocks against the stall door.

"Hey, you okay?" a feminine voice asks softly.

Felicity takes a few more breaths before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "Yeah, I'm fine." She flushes the toilet and slowly eases herself to a standing position, grabbing her bag off the floor. Stepping out of the stall and towards the sinks, she expects to find an empty bathroom but is surprised to see a beautiful blonde girl still standing beside the sinks, hands stuffed in the back pockets of her jeans and eyes observing her carefully. Offering a stiff smile, Felicity begins washing her hands, scooping up a handful of water to rinse out her mouth.

Suddenly, the other blonde speaks up, "Are you pregnant?"

Choking at her words, Felicity spits the water into the sink and coughs a few times, a hand flying to her chest and wide eyes looking at the girl. "W – what?" she croaks out.

The girl arches a brow, "Y'know, pregnant. Knocked up. With child."

"I – I," she stammers before closing her mouth and sighing. Her voice is quiet, "How did you know?"

"Well, you _were_ just puking in the bathroom, so it was my first guess. Second guess was bulimia, third was that you just have the flu. But I'm usually a pretty good guesser," the girl shrugs. "I'm Sara, by the way."

"Felicity," she offers, still quiet, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Sara narrows her eyes as she takes her in before stepping closer, her gaze softening, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the corners of her mouth tick up weakly, "Thanks."

"Have you told anyone? The father?"

Felicity cringes at the thought of Oliver knowing the truth, "No. Nobody knows. Well, except for you, I guess."

After a few seconds of thinking, Sara takes another step, "Look – Felicity, right? I know that I'm a complete stranger and may not understand exactly what you're going through, but I guess I can kind of relate. I know… I know what it's like to keep a secret from everyone. From your friends, your _family._ And it may not be the same situation, but if you ever want someone to talk to…" She reaches into her backpack and grabs a small scrap of paper and a pen, using the wall as a hard surface and scribbling down her phone number. Turning back to face the other blonde, she holds out the piece of paper, "Text or call me anytime."

Taking in the girl in front of her, Felicity's mouth falls open slightly at her kindness before she reaches out and takes the paper from her hand. "Thanks. That's um, that's really nice of you." She doesn't know what Sara is referencing when talking about keeping her own secret, but she appreciates the offer to talk, especially considering she has no one in her life that she can tell. Her parents would probably disown her, she doesn't know how Caitlin or Iris would react… Maybe it is just easier to talk to a stranger about your problems.

Sara offers a smile before tossing her backpack over her shoulder and nodding her head towards the door. "Well, I gotta get to class. Feel better Felicity, and seriously, don't be afraid to text me if you ever need to talk. I'm a great listener." She turns on her heeled boots and moves towards the door, wrapping a hand around the handle before pausing. "Oh," she reaches into the side pocket of her bag and pulls out a piece of silver-wrapped gum, "Here." She tosses it to the other girl, Felicity barely managing to catch it with her complete lack of athletic skills. Sara chuckles lightly, "You're cute." Sending her one last smile, she leaves the bathroom.

Mouth hanging open, Felicity watches as the door closes behind her, feeling the weight that's been constant on her chest for the past week lessen just a little bit.

* * *

Biting her bottom lip between her teeth, Felicity's leg bounces up and down quickly and she wipes her sweaty palms on the fabric covering her thighs. She closes her eyes and tries to calm her nerves, waiting for what feels like hours for her name to be called. It had only taken two days before she texted Sara, desperately needing someone else to talk to besides the babbling voice in her head. It would've been sooner, but she hesitated after realizing that Sara was Sara _Lance,_ Laurel's younger sister. Aka the younger sister of the girl whose boyfriend impregnated her. Talk about awkward. Deciding that she really did need a friend, she chose to continue keeping Oliver's identity a secret.

For the past week and a half, the two girls have talked constantly and not just about the younger girl's situation, but other things too – anything to distract her. They've become quick friends, feeling like they can be open about anything to each other. And finally, after constant pestering, Sara had convinced Felicity to make a doctor's appointment at a clinic with the promise of going with her. Which is why Felicity's eyes open at the feel of someone grasping her hand and she tilts her head, offering Sara a thankful smile.

There is no way she'd have made it here on her own. She doesn't even want to be here _now;_ she doesn't want to walk in that room, she doesn't want to talk to the doctor, and she sure as hell doesn't want to get an ultrasound. Because all of that… It makes this real and she doesn't want to think about what that means or the decisions she'll have to make. Felicity prides herself on not being a selfish person, but she can't help the lingering thoughts of what her future is supposed to look like. And then she thinks that maybe doing the thing that she doesn't want to think about wouldn't be selfish, but selfless. What kind of mother could she be? What kind of life could she offer someone?

The door to the waiting room opens, cutting off her thoughts, and an older woman steps through with a clipboard in hand. "Felicity," she calls, lifting her chin and searching the room filled with several waiting women and couples.

Felicity's neck snaps towards the woman nearly giving her whiplash and her breath hitches in her throat before Sara squeezes her hand. "C'mon," she urges, tugging Felicity to her feet when she doesn't stand. Dragging her along, Sara pushes her slightly ahead and speaks to the nurse, "This is Felicity."

Sensing the young girl's nerves, the woman offers a kind smile and holds the door open, "Right this way." She proceeds to take Felicity's height and weight before leading them to an exam room and finishing a few other tests, asking a question here and there. When she's done, she stands, "Alright, Felicity, your blood pressure and everything else looks good. Doctor Samuels should be in in a few minutes."

Both teenagers watch as the woman leaves before Sara turns in her seat to face Felicity where she is perched on the exam table. "Hey, everything's gonna be fine. Just take a deep breath."

Felicity does as she's told before glancing at her friend and voicing her earlier thoughts, "I know. I just… This makes it _real_ , and I don't know what to do."

Scooting her chair closer, Sara wraps her fingers around hers and squeezes, "I know. But you'll figure it out, and maybe this visit will clear things up a little bit."

Just as she opens her mouth to respond, there is a knock on the door before it opens seconds later and a middle-aged Asian woman in a lab coat steps into the room, a smile on her face. "Hello, Felicity. My name is Doctor Samuels, I'll be examining you today."

"Hi," she greets with a quiet voice before clearing her throat, gesturing a hand to the side, "This is my friend Sara."

"Nice to meet you both." Doctor Samuels moves to start washing her hands, "Now Felicity, your blood test does confirm that you are pregnant. Your hormone levels indicate that you're just shy of eight weeks along, does that seem about right?"

"Yeah, I've only… I mean, I know exactly when it happened," her voice quiets as she glances at her lap, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

Doctor Samuels doesn't comment, instead moving to stand beside the exam table. "And you're sixteen, correct?" Felicity nods. "Lay back please." After she does, Doctor Samuels begins a standard examination by feeling around Felicity's stomach with her hands, pushing down in different places and asking various questions. Once she finishes, she wheels over a cart with a large machine on it from the corner of the room, "Alright, Felicity. We're going to do an early ultrasound today just to make sure everything looks good so far. While we most likely won't be able to hear the baby's heartbeat at this point, we should be able to see it on the monitor."

Inhaling a shaky breath, Felicity nods and the paper crinkles underneath her body as she shifts in an attempt to get more comfortable, which is impossible given how terrified she is. Feeling Sara's presence next to her offers some relief, but not nearly enough to slow her rapidly beating pulse. Hearing Doctor Samuels' voice through a sort of fog, she lifts her shirt to expose her still-flat stomach and squirms when the room temperature gel is squirted on her skin.

Within seconds, a black and white image appears on the screen and takes Felicity's breath away. She didn't think that she would react this way, but actually seeing the baby… _Her_ baby… This is the first time she allows herself to call it that - a _baby._ Her breath hitches and tears immediately spring to her eyes at the small little oval shape.

"That right there," Doctor Samuels points to the shape, "Is your baby."

Sara abruptly cuts through the following silence, awe in her voice, "It looks like a peanut."

Felicity exhales a chuckle, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen as a disbelieving smile tugs up the corners of her mouth against her will. A part of her knows that she shouldn't be happy about this but she is, and she can't explain why.

After a few minutes of examining the screen, Doctor Samuels freezes the image and hands over some paper towels so Felicity can wipe the gel from her stomach. She pushes the cart a few inches back, "Everything looks good, Felicity. All the measurements are within normal range. Now," her voice softens, "I know that you are young. Have you thought about your options?"

Forcing herself to meet the older woman's gaze, her mouth falls open and her eyes widen. She stutters a response, "I - I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

"That's alright," she smiles kindly, placing a reassuring hand on her forearm, "You still have time to make decisions." Doctor Samuels moves over to the counter where a small display rack sits and grabs a few of the different packets, "Here. These are some pamphlets that give all the information you'll need about options - keeping the baby, adoption, or termination. Look them over carefully and think about what you would like to do. In the meantime, I've written you a prescription for some prenatal vitamins. It is very important that you take them daily, even though you haven't made any decisions yet. You can pick up a print out of your ultrasound and set up your next appointment at the front desk, okay?"

Felicity nods, accepting the various papers from her outstretched hands, "Thank you."

"Of course. It was lovely meeting you both." Offering one last smile, Doctor Samuels grabs her clipboard and leaves the exam room.

Both girls gather their things and make their way back to the waiting room, Felicity's thoughts running a mile a minute as her eyes scan over the pamphlets in her hands. Sara places a comforting hand on her shoulder when she comes across the one with the words _'Terminating the Pregnancy'_ written across the front. She can't help but think how deceiving the font choice is for the subject matter and how cheesy the picture of a young woman seemingly in deep thought, clutching her stomach loosely, is. Reaching the front desk, Felicity quickly sets up another appointment in four weeks and grabs the ultrasound picture, shoving it into the pocket of her cardigan without a second glance before continuing out of the clinic.

* * *

"Thanks," Sara offers the waiter a smile when he sets the basket containing her burger and fries onto the table, followed by her vanilla milkshake. The young man leaves their table and Sara grabs a french fry, a chuckle bubbling past her lips when she lifts her gaze to see Felicity already shoving the double belly buster burger into her face. "Slow down there."

The other blonde shakes her head and answers with a mouth full of food, "It's so good."

"I can see that," she laughs. After a few minutes of eating in comfortable silence, Sara clears her throat, eyes never leaving the younger girl. "Felicity… We should talk about what happened at your appointment."

Felicity stiffens, avoiding meeting her gaze, "I'd rather not."

"You need to decide what you're going to do. Some of those options have a time limit, y'know."

"I know that," she snaps.

Sara arches a brow in question, "Do you?" At the scoff she receives, she continues, "Felicity, whether you like it or not, this is real. You need to tell someone; your friends, your parents, the father - _someone_ in your life other than me. You can't make this decision alone and depending on what you want to do, you won't be able to keep this a secret forever."

Narrowing her eyes in anger - not really at Sara, but at the fact that everything she's saying is true – Felicity scoffs again. "You're one to talk. Here you are saying I need to tell someone when you have your own mysterious secret that _I_ don't even know. So maybe you should take a look in the mirror before giving me advice." She regrets her words immediately in the following silence but is too prideful to take them back, instead darting her eyes to stare at the table, fingers wading through the condensation collecting at the bottom of her milkshake glass.

Thinking over the other girl's words, Sara exhales softly before raising her chin confidently, "I'm bisexual."

Felicity's head flies up, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise at the admittance. Realizing how her reaction could be misconstrued, she slams her lips together.

Sara sighs again, "You're right, I'm a hypocrite. So… Now you know."

"Wow," Felicity softens her voice, trying to show her friend that she doesn't care about her sexual orientation, "Does anyone else know?"

"Just my girlfriend," she responds with a small smile. "Her name is Nyssa. She goes to a different school. She's… She's amazing. And I'm forcing her back in the closet because I'm too scared to tell my family the truth about who I am."

"Oh, Sara." She reaches across the table, placing her hand on top of the other girl's. "You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are."

She huffs a laugh, "Oh, I'm not ashamed. But my dad is a cop; my mom is a college professor. They're pretty traditional, and I don't know how they'll react. I accept who I am, and I love myself." Her eyes turn sad, "I just… don't want them to hate me."

"What about your sister?" she pushes through the clog in her throat at the thought of the older Lance girl.

Sara shrugs a shoulder, "I mean, if I were to tell anyone, it would be her."

"You should tell her, Sara."

She narrows her eyes, "Okay. I'll make you a deal. I'll tell Laurel that I like kissing girls if you tell someone else that you've got a bun in the oven."

A crippling fear bubbles up from deep within Felicity's chest at the thought of telling someone, but she knows her friend is right. And truthfully, she wants to do this for Sara, too. Breathing in deeply, she exhales a slow breath before nodding, "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Iris and Caitlin exchange a glance before facing their friend to take in her tired and disheveled appearance, wondering what Felicity had called them over to talk about. The blonde avoids their heavy gazes, trying to build up the courage to say what she plans to say, knowing she'll need to force herself. It's been almost two weeks since her first doctor's appointment, and she hasn't kept the deal she and Sara made. The guilt has been eating away at her ever since Sara admitted last week that she came out as bisexual to her older sister, Laurel, which apparently went better than expected. So, Felicity had spent the last week trying to decide who she should trust and once deciding on her two best friends, she'd spent her time conjuring up the courage to tell them.

Since her parents are out of town this weekend on a business retreat for her dad's company, she concluded that today is as good a day as any and called them over. But now, sitting here in front of them, she doesn't know if she can do it - if she can actually say the words out loud. She hasn't actually said them out loud at all yet; Sara guessed it, the doctor didn't need to be told what the blood test already confirmed.

"Felicity," Iris cuts through the silence of the room, "What's been going on with you? You haven't been yourself lately. Talk to us, you know you can tell us anything."

The blonde inhales a shaky breath, eyes staring at her lap as she speaks, deciding it's best to start at the beginning, "Do you remember that party you took me to after Cooper broke up with me?"

Iris nods, "Yeah, at Tommy Merlyn's house. We were only there for an hour before you found us and told me that you already called an Uber to take you home. I still feel bad about that, I shouldn't have made you go."

"Something… Something happened at the party." Both girls' brows draw together in confusion, even further as she continues, "I did something."

"Felicity, what are you talking about?" Caitlin asks.

After taking in another deep breath, Felicity lifts her chin to look at her friends and blurts out, "I had sex."

Silence envelops the three friends as they all stare between each other with wide eyes before Iris breaks it, _"What?!"_ She pauses, "I mean, wow Lis. That's… huge." When Felicity doesn't say anything else, just glances at her lap with her bottom lip tugged between her teeth, her inner journalist begins surfacing, "With who? Why didn't you tell us sooner? Is that why you wanted to leave so early? Wait, you wanted it to happen, right?"

Her breath hitches at the mini interrogation and she closes her eyes, trying to process her thoughts. She decides to blatantly ignore the first two questions, "Yes, that's why I left, and yes, I guess I wanted it to happen at the time. I wanted… I wanted to feel in control of something. But I was stupid."

Caitlin scoots closer to the edge of couch where she sits next to Iris, both facing Felicity perched on the ottoman. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Her vision clouds when she raises her chin with a sheepish smile on her face and lifts a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug, a humorless laugh bubbling past her lips just as a hot tear trails down her cheek, "Because I'm pregnant?"

Eyes widening even more, Caitlin and Iris are stunned into silence as they watch their friend begin to shake before looking to each other helplessly, neither of them knowing how to react or what to do. Suddenly, Felicity completely breaks down, tears flowing freely as she leans her elbows on her knees and buries her face in her hands, and the girls react instantly. They both scoot forward as far as possible without falling off the couch and envelope the blonde into a group hug from both sides, each rubbing a hand up and down her back while whispering soothing words. They exchange another glance over the top of her head, knowing that this news changes _everything._

Several minutes pass, the only sounds being Felicity's occasional sniffle as she finally begins to calm down. The other girls pull back enough to see her face, each still holding one of her hands in theirs. Iris' voice breaks the silence once again, "Why didn't you tell us? You've been dealing with this all alone for weeks."

"I haven't been alone," Felicity shakes her head softly and sniffles, bringing up her hand to wipe her nose. Guilt bubbles up from deep in her chest at the brief looks of hurt that cross their features. "I got sick at school and a girl, Sara… She was there and she figured it out. I didn't know who else to go to, and I guess it was easier to talk to a stranger about it. She's been helping me and convinced me to finally tell someone in my life. I was just so scared at how you guys would react."

"Felicity, we're your best friends. We're here for you through anything," Caitlin assures with a squeeze of her hand, any momentary anger at the fact she confided in someone else completely forgotten. "Do you know what you're going to do? If you're going to keep it?"

"I have no idea. I've been thinking a lot since my doctor's appointment, but I'm still so scared and confused. I mean, I'm sixteen. My next appointment is in a few weeks, so hopefully by then I'll have a decision about… y'know."

"Well, what about the father?" Iris furrows her brows in thought, "Don't you think he deserves a say in it? I mean, it's your decision in the end, but it's his life too."

"Wait," Caitlin holds up a hand, "Who _is_ the father?" The blonde drops her gaze to her lap where her fingers fiddle with each other, a nervous habit, and she mumbles an answer neither girl can make out. "What?"

Felicity sighs and runs a hand over her messy ponytail, her fingers catching in a few knots along the way, "Oliver Queen."

At the information, Caitlin and Iris' mouths fall open in shock before the latter speaks, _"What?!_ You had sex with _Oliver Queen? The_ Oliver Queen?!"

"How was it?" Caitlin blurts out, unable to stop herself.

Huffing, she glares at her friends, "Well, considering the fact that I got knocked up, I'm gonna go with _not great."_

"Okay, that part is extremely unfortunate. But like, the actual sex part. Was it incredible? Because we all know the rumors about him." Caitlin raises a brow at her own implication, unable to resist lifting both hands in front of her, spacing them several inches apart from each other.

A blush immediately colors Felicity's cheeks as she avoids meeting their eyes, remembering every incredible sensation from that night, "I - it - it was amazing, but that's not the point. The point is that there is no way that I'm telling him. He probably doesn't even remember me."

"Felicity, he deserves to know before you make any decisions. And depending on what that decision is, he has a responsibility in this."

She looks at Iris a bit dumbfounded, trying to come up with a logical way to negate her words but comes up empty, "I know - I mean… That's not… I…"

"Felicity."

She shakes her head, "I can't."

Caitlin sighs, her eyes softening as she reaches out a hand to encompass hers, "We'll always support you, but you know it's the right thing to do, Lis. "

"Fine," she exhales a long breath. "Fine. I'll tell him."

* * *

Staring into the semi-darkness of her locker, Felicity wonders why she let her friends convince her to do this. She doesn't want to tell Oliver the truth, but she made a promise. She hates breaking her promises. Tilting her chin to the side, her breath hitches at the sight of Oliver standing with a group of guys, laughing at what appears to be a very interesting story being told by his best friend, Tommy Merlyn. She can't believe she's about to do this, but she knows she has to. While it is ultimately her decision on what to do, Iris was right the other day – he deserves to know what's going on and give his opinion on the matter.

Inhaling deeply, Felicity closes her locker and turns towards where Oliver stands with his friends, exhaling a slow breath before taking the first step forward. As she gets closer, she tries not to allow herself to be distracted by the hypnotic sound of his laugh. When she overhears a break in the conversation, she takes her chance, knowing it's now or never. "Oliver?" she barely manages, clearing the nerves from her throat.

Oliver turns halfway to glance over his shoulder before facing her fully, the same grin from that night plastered on his face as his eyes take her in. "Hey you."

 _Seriously?_ Trying not to react in any way to his words, feeling multiple pairs of eyes observing her, she raises a hand and pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose without meeting his eyes. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Her eyes flit to the group of guys nervously before finding their way back to him, "Alone?"

She can tell he is confused but he nods and says goodbye to his friends. "Sure. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Turning on her heels, Felicity trusts that he'll follow as she makes her way down the hallway and around the corner, biting her lip as she carefully checks their surroundings to make sure no one else is around to possibly overhear them. She faces him when he speaks up to see him eyeing her curiously. "So what's up?"

She blinks, "I - I'm Felicity. Smoak. I don't know if you remember me but -"

"- I remember you." He smirks, "I could never forget our night together, Felicity."

God, that was such a line, and she tries really hard not to roll her eyes at the notorious playboy. "Yeah, whatever. Look, I don't… I don't really know how to say this so I'm just gonna say it before I inevitably begin to freak out and lose my nerve or start babbling uncontrollably, kind of," her nose scrunches up, "Like I'm doing right now. Ugh. Okay, I'm just going to say this." Felicity closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath before opening them again, finally making eye contact with his mesmerizing blue orbs, "I'm pregnant."

Oliver stares at her for a few seconds before he huffs out a laugh, "You're joking."

She doesn't react, not seeing the humor in this at all. He must notice the tears beginning to form in her eyes because his entire demeanor changes, his face falling.

"Wh - Please tell me you're joking. We - I used a condom. I _always_ use a condom, I'm not an idiot."

Scoffing, she folds her arms tightly across her stomach, gaze dropping to stare at his chest instead of his distractingly handsome face. "Yeah, well, they only work 98 percent of the time and given how many girls you sleep with, it was bound to happen eventually."

He ignores her insult, instead dragging both hands down his face. "Are - are you sure?"

"Yes," she nods, "The doctor did a blood test."

"What? You - _shit."_

"Yeah," she mumbles in agreement.

Silence envelops them until he begins shaking his head and holds his hands out slightly in front of him, "No, no. This can't be right. This - no. There has to be a mistake. False positives are a thing, right?"

A tear trails down her cheek and she quickly brings up a hand to swipe it away before she clears her throat. She knew this was going to be a mistake. "Y'know what? I shouldn't have told you. Just - just forget I said anything, okay? I'll handle this myself." Felicity moves around him, speed walking around the corner and as far away from him as she can get. Why did she let her friends convince her to tell him the truth? It went exactly how she thought it would – he freaked out, thought she was lying… God, she is so stupid. The tears begin to flow freely as she pushes through the double doors, the afternoon sunlight hitting her face as she ignores his faint cries of her name.

After taking her time walking home, needing to slow down her rapidly beating heart, Felicity retreated straight to her bedroom. She spent several hours sitting on the floor of her bathroom, the feeling of nausea refusing to subside. Deciding that she probably wasn't going to actually be sick, she skipped dinner and curled up under her blankets, enjoying the dark silence of her bed but hating the way her thoughts ran wild. The day was exhausting even before her conversation with Oliver which proceeded to tire her out more, what with all the emotions running through her that are only heightened by these damn hormones. When she'd finally managed to fall asleep, she continued restlessly rolling from side to side all night. The next morning, she knew that her mom would eventually come check on her, so she decided it would be best to show her face.

Felicity brings the blanket higher underneath her chin, eyes unfocused as she stares blankly at the television, not really watching whatever soap opera her mom taped. She can't stop thinking about what happened at school yesterday, how she finally built up the courage to tell Oliver that she is pregnant and immediately regretted it. She should've known better and just kept it to herself. How did this become her life? She is a teenage girl, she is supposed to be worrying about managing to pass her classes or getting asked to homecoming by a cute boy, not… Not getting a 4.0 so she can finally make her father proud or if she'll be changing diapers a year from now.

She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't register the knocking on the front door or the shift of the couch cushions when her mom stands to answer it until Donna's excited voice reaches her ears, "Felicity! There's a boy here to see you!"

Her head snaps to the side and her eyes widen when they focus on the one and only Oliver Queen standing on her front porch with his hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, much like how he stood in the hallway before she had ripped his life apart. Felicity throws the blanket to the floor as she rises to her feet and rushes to the door, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh," Oliver clears his throat, "I wanted to talk about that project we have to work on together." She furrows her brows in confusion before realizing that was his lame attempt at an excuse as to why he is here. He's a terrible liar.

"Right," she nods slowly before sending a small smile towards Donna, "Mom, I'll be right back."

"Oh sweetie," she leans in and whispers, though her words can still clearly be heard, "He is so cute! Get on that!"

"Mom!" Her cheeks immediately flush and she shoves her mom further into the house before closing the door. Breathing in deeply to collect herself, she turns around to face him a few seconds later to find he's taken a couple steps back, putting some distance between her and where he shuffles between his feet awkwardly. Felicity wraps her arms around her stomach, partly to protect herself from the light morning breeze and partly to protect herself from _him._ "What are you doing here?" she repeats her earlier question now that they're alone.

Oliver clears his throat, "I found your address in the school directory. We need to talk."

"Look, we really don't. I told you that I can handle this on my own -"

"- No," he interrupts firmly, surprising her into silence. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted yesterday, I just – You kind of changed my whole world," he huffs a humorless laugh as he brings a hand up to scratch underneath his well-defined jaw. "Can we go somewhere to talk about this? Please?"

Felicity watches him carefully, noticing the vulnerability and sincerity in his ocean blue eyes, and she sighs. "Yeah, I guess. Just… Just let me change. Wait here."


	5. Chapter 5

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Sighing, Oliver drags a hand down his face and tosses his phone on the bed beside him, choosing to ignore Laurel's third text asking him to hang out tonight in as many minutes. Ever since they made up, she's been even clingier than usual, wanting to spend every second of free time together. He just needs a break. Maybe he'll invite Tommy over later; he can hang out with his best friend while avoiding his girlfriend at the same time – it's really a win-win.

Sitting up, he swings his sweatpants clad legs over the side of the bed until his bare feet touch the hardwood floors, wincing slightly at the unexpected cold before standing up. He grabs a discarded shirt from the back of the couch and tugs it over his head, slipping his arms through as he moves out of his room and down the staircase. Mumbling voices get louder and clearer the closer he gets to the dining room, and his eyes fall on the remaining members of his family sitting around the table for brunch when he rounds the corner.

"Well, if it isn't sleeping beauty," Robert Queen teases, setting down his glass of orange juice.

Oliver rolls his eyes at his dad, trying to suppress a smile as he tugs out an empty chair and settles in next to his younger sister. Reaching over to her plate, he snatches a piece of bacon and takes a bite, "Mornin' Speedy."

She sends a glare his way, holding her arms protectively around her food, "Ollie, get your own! And I told you, I'm in high school now so you have to call me Thea."

"Not gonna happen, Speedy," he promises, smirking when she groans and goes back to eating her food, watching his movements from the corner of her eye. She may be fourteen, but she'll always be his baby sister. Raising his hands in surrender, he leans forward with his empty plate and starts dishing up various breakfast foods Raisa prepared – she really is the best cook ever, especially when she makes his favorite double chocolate chip muffins. He settles back and starts eating, zoning out as his parents start discussing upcoming meetings and charity events that he couldn't care less about.

He's pulled from his randomly wandering thoughts by the sound of his sister's voice and tilts his chin to find her staring at him expectantly. "Huh?"

Thea huffs, her long dark hair falling over her shoulder as she shovels another forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. "Is Laurel coming over today?"

"Nope," he shakes his head, popping the 'p' sound and lifting the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to his lips.

"Ollie, why are you still even dating her? You know I love her, she's like a big sister. But you guys fight and go on 'breaks' all the time. It's pretty obvious that she annoys you, just dump her for real."

"Hey, she doesn't _annoy_ me," he lies through his teeth, suddenly feeling the need to defend himself and his relationship, however unconventional and toxic it may be. "I love Laurel. We may fight sometimes, but we're good together. I just don't think we need to be around each other 24/7."

She huffs a laugh and rolls her hazel eyes, "Is that why you made out with Helena Bertinelli last weekend?"

His hand freezes with his fork halfway to his mouth and stays hanging in the air for a few seconds before he slowly lowers it and clears his throat, ticking his eyes towards her. "How… Where did you hear that?"

"Ollie," she tilts her chin towards him and arches a brow. "I go to your school now. I know people; I hear things."

"I did not make out with Helena." _This time._ It was just a brief kiss.

Thea chuckles again and goes back to eating, "If that's your story."

Opening his mouth to respond and deny the accusations, even if they may be semi-true, he is interrupted by his mother's voice. "Oliver, darling," Moira turns away from her conversation with her husband and looks towards her children.

Oliver settles back in his chair and looks straight ahead to his parents, hoping they hadn't heard Thea's earlier words. He arches both brows in question, waiting for her to continue speaking.

"Next weekend, we are attending a function for one of the charities that I'm a board member of. I would like for both you and your sister to come. You can invite Laurel if you'd like," the older woman explains.

He tries to hold back the groan fighting to escape at the thought of being forced to dress up in a stuffy suit and talk to boring old people for hours. He really hates going to these events but knows that if he goes to a few, he'll be able to get out of going to the longer ones in the future and avoid fighting with his parents. Plus, he just so happens to be free next weekend. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, I'll go."

Moira smiles widely and claps her hands together, "Wonderful."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Robert straightens in his chair and looks to his son, "You have some days off from school coming up and I want you to come to Queen Consolidated with me to get a feel of the business."

This time, Oliver can't stop the groan he emits at his father's words, tilting his head against the back of his chair and staring at the ceiling. Robert has been trying for years to groom him to eventually take over their family company, Queen Consolidated, which is the last thing that Oliver wants to do. It just isn't the future that he wants for himself, working as much as his father does in a stuffy suit. All his life, people have expected him to be smart, ambitious, business savvy – everything that his father is. It's all just too much… Too much pressure, too many expectations. Which is probably why he tries so hard to show that he is _nothing_ like his dad. A part of him, deep down inside, is resentful of their company and their family's legacy. He knows that if things had been different, if his father hadn't spent so much time working while he was growing up, maybe they'd have a better relationship. Maybe Robert would understand him better, would _know_ him better.

"No thanks," he finally answers.

He hears both of his parents sigh at the usual answer they get from him. "Oliver," Moira starts, "You're a senior. You need to start thinking about your future, you have obligations. Majoring in business at an Ivy League school, shadowing your father at the company, and eventually working to take over as CEO."

"And like I've told you before, no. I'm not doing that. I don't even want to go to college after graduation, I'd rather take a year off."

"To do what? Party and get drunk with Tommy?" she asks incredulously.

After thinking about his answer for a second, he shrugs a shoulder, "Yeah."

"Oliver Jonas Queen," Robert starts with a stern voice, chair scraping against the hardwood floors as he rises to his feet, "I've heard enough of this. You'll -"

Recognizing the beginning of a familiar argument, Oliver interrupts, "Dad, don't. I've heard this all before and you can't make me go to school, or work for you."

He scoffs, "I can't make you? Believe me, Son, I can and I will. Or you can say goodbye to my money that you love so much. End of discussion."

The three remaining Queens watch as he storms out of the dining room and towards his office in silence before Thea breaks it with a low whistle, "Yikes."

Oliver tilts his head towards his sister, "Relax. That wasn't the first time he's threatened to cut me off, and it probably won't be the last."

Pushing her chair back, albeit more gently than her husband did moments ago, Moira stands and smooths away the invisible wrinkles of her dress, "You should listen to your father. One day, he might just follow through on his threats."

He rolls his eyes as she leaves the room, lifting his fork and finishing his food, ignoring the all-too common warnings from his mother.

* * *

Oliver chuckles, shaking his head as Tommy recalls his drunken antics from the weekend before. It's the end of the day and he wanted to catch up with his friends to double check the plans for the party tonight before heading home. When his best friend finishes his story, he speaks up, "So are we going to Max's tonight?"

"Yeah, the 'rents are out of town," Max Fuller grins.

Clapping a hand on Oliver's back, Tommy smiles, "Dude, we gotta start planning your eighteenth birthday party. It's only a couple weeks away and it'll be _epic_ if I have any say in it."

He laughs, "Go crazy; I give you full authority as my best friend. Hell, I'll even pay for it." Tommy opens his mouth to respond but instead, a feminine voice calls out from behind them. Oliver turns to peer over his shoulder, eyes landing on a familiar blonde.

"Oliver?" Felicity says before clearing her throat.

A knowing grin tugs up the corners of his mouth, "Hey you."

Tommy rolls his eyes before running them over the girl's body, recognizing the greeting his best friend uses as the tell-tale sign that he hooked up with her. Huh. This girl definitely doesn't seem like Ollie's usual type, but she's cute.

Felicity adjusts the glasses resting atop her nose, not making direct eye contact, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Her eyes flit to the group of guys observing her closely and back to him, "Alone?"

He frowns slightly but nods in agreement, "Sure." Oliver faces his friends and pats a hand on Tommy's shoulder, "I'll catch up with you guys later." He turns back towards Felicity and watches as she spins on her heels before following her down the hallway and around the corner, brows furrowing even deeper when she nervously checks their surroundings to make sure no one else is around to possibly overhear them. "So," he starts when she remains silent and wonders what has her so freaked, shoving both hands in the front pockets of his jeans, "What's up?"

"I - I'm Felicity. Smoak. I don't know if you remember me but -"

"- I remember you." He smirks and rocks forward on his heels slightly, "I could never forget our night together, Felicity." God, that was such a line, and he can tell that she is not amused by his charm this time around. She seems serious, and he begins to worry what the hell she could possibly want to talk to him about - he was under the impression that they would probably never speak again. Maybe she realized that he lied about being broken up with Laurel and wants to give him a piece of her mind. Or threaten to tell Laurel about what they did. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

"Yeah, whatever. Look, I don't… I don't really know how to say this so I'm just gonna say it before I inevitably begin to freak out and lose my nerve or start babbling uncontrollably, kind of," her nose scrunches up, "Like I'm doing right now. Ugh. Okay, I'm just going to say this." He tries to suppress a smile at her babbling, which he still finds incredibly cute, as Felicity closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath before opening them again, finally making eye contact with him, "I'm pregnant."

Oliver's face falls and he stares at her with wide, unblinking eyes for a few seconds before he huffs out a laugh, "You're joking." When he sees the clouding of tears behind her glasses, he reels back. "Wh - Please tell me you're joking. We - I used a condom. I _always_ use a condom, I'm not an idiot."

Scoffing, Felicity folds her arms tightly across her stomach and drops her gaze. "Yeah, well, they only work 98 percent of the time and given how many girls you sleep with, it was bound to happen eventually."

Her insult falls on deaf ears as everything around him blurs, like the world is falling off its axis and everything is spinning. His pulse quickens as he drags both hands down his face before searching over her face with slightly widened eyes. He gulps and forces himself to speak, ignoring the pain of his suddenly dry throat, "Are - are you sure?"

"Yes. The doctor did a blood test."

 _She's already been to a doctor?_ His mouth opens and closes like a fish, "What? You - _shit."_

"Yeah," she mumbles in agreement.

Silence envelops them until he begins shaking his head and holds his hands out slightly in front of him, "No, no. This can't be right. This - no. There has to be a mistake. False positives are a thing, right?" It _must_ be a mistake at the hospital or something. This _cannot_ be happening. He can't be a father. He c _an't._

A tear trails down her cheek and she quickly brings up a hand to swipe it away before clearing her throat, "Y'know what? I shouldn't have told you. Just - just forget I said anything, okay? I'll handle this myself." Felicity moves around him, speed walking around the corner as fast as her five-foot-five legs allow.

It takes Oliver a few seconds to register what she said before he turns and starts to head after her, "Wait, no. Felicity!" He calls her name again but when he rounds the corner, the school hallway is empty. Watching the door latch shut, he groans in frustration and drags his hands over his face before moving to the top of his head, tugging on his short hair. Closing his eyes, he moves over to one of the walls of lockers and leans his forehead against the cool metal, his thoughts running wild. He can't believe he'd _actually_ gotten someone pregnant. What the hell is he supposed to do now? He can't exactly tell his parents – his mother would be too worried about their family's reputation and his father… God, his father… His father is going to kill him, that is if Laurel doesn't do it first.

Anger bubbles up inside of him – anger at himself, anger at the entire situation – and Oliver lets out a frustrated growl just as he pulls back a fist before sending it forward into a locker door. The metal barely dents under the force but pain immediately radiates through his fist and up his forearm. "Fuck," he grinds out, cradling his red-knuckled hand to his chest loosely. Taking a few deep breaths, he sighs and shakes out his hand before making his way out of the school, needing to go somewhere else to think.

After spending almost the entire night down by the lake he and Tommy had spent so much time at growing up, Oliver still felt as lost as ever, but one thing he knew for certain was that he needed to talk to Felicity. The day's draining events catching up with him, he'd fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, not even pausing at the pain that surged through his hand when he accidentally landed on it when collapsing in bed. When he woke the next morning, the first thing he did was drudge up the school directory they never used to find where Felicity lived, which took a few minutes considering he couldn't remember her last name at first – he knew it started with an 'S'. Ignoring the several missed text messages from his friends asking where he was last night, he scribbled down her address and hopped in his car.

Now, standing in front of the two-story yellow house, he feels the nerves sitting in the pit of his stomach like a lead ball, the pain in his hand suddenly present and ten times worse than it was last night. Inhaling a few deep breaths, Oliver takes the last few steps to the red front door and raises his uninjured hand, rapping his knuckles against the wood several times. He stuffs both hands in the front pockets of his jeans just to stop himself from rubbing his middle, forefinger, and thumb together, a nervous habit he developed as a kid.

Suddenly, the door swings open to reveal an older, attractive blonde woman in a tight shirt and leggings. Assuming this is Mrs. Smoak, he plasters on the most charming smile he can muster given the circumstances, "Hi. Is Felicity here?"

Donna Smoak's eyes widen and a grin stretches across her face as she takes him in before turning and nearly yelling in excitement, "Felicity! There's a boy here to see you!"

Oliver peers over her shoulder just in time to see Felicity snap her head towards him from where she is curled up on the couch with a blanket, her eyes wide in surprise. Almost at lightning speed, she jumps to her feet and speed-walks to the door. Her frantic eyes meet his, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh," he clears his throat. Crap. He should've thought of an excuse on the drive over. "I wanted to talk about that project we have to work on together."

She stares at him in confusion before catching onto his plan. "Right," she nods slowly before sending a small smile towards her mother, "Mom, I'll be right back."

"Oh sweetie," Mrs. Smoak leans in and tries to whisper, but he can still hear her, "He is so cute! Get on that!"

Felicity's cheeks turn bright red as she scolds her mom before pushing her inside the house and slamming the door closed, and he tries not to smile at the whole exchange considering why he's here, not really thinking this is a smiling matter. Clearing his throat to collect himself, Oliver takes a step or two back to put some distance between them as she turns around. He shuffles between his feet, trying not to stare at where her arms are wrapped around her stomach.

She eyes him warily, "What are you doing here?"

He clears his throat again to make sure his voice is steady, "I found your address in the school directory. We need to talk."

"Look, we really don't. I told you that I can handle this on my own -"

"- No," he interrupts firmly, needing her to hear what he has to say. This is too important. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted yesterday, I just – You kind of changed my whole world," he huffs a humorless laugh as he brings a hand up to scratch underneath his jaw, another one of his nervous ticks. "Can we go somewhere to talk about this? Please?"

Felicity watches him carefully, seemingly deciding if she should give him the time of day before she sighs. "Yeah, I guess. Just… Just let me change. Wait here."


	6. Chapter 6

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Felicity tucks a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, shifting uncomfortably on the park bench and tugs on the long sleeves of her sweater. After agreeing to go somewhere to talk with Oliver, she changed and told her mom that they were going to the library to work on their "project", to which Donna promptly responded with a conspiratorial wink. Wanting to go somewhere where they wouldn't necessarily be alone, they decided to go to Star Park and drove Oliver's Porsche in awkward silence. Now, sitting on a bench in the middle of the crowded park, Felicity stares at an invisible spot on the ground just wishing she could be anywhere else, in any other situation but this.

Her view of the concrete suddenly becomes obstructed by a pair of shoes and she comes back to herself, lifting her chin and swallowing. Oliver stands in front of her, shuffling between his feet before he holds out the plastic water bottle he'd just bought her from a stand a few yards away. He clears his throat, "Here."

"Thanks," she blinks and shifts her eyes away from his, reaching out to grab the bottle and when her hand wraps around it, her fingertips just barely brush against his causing her to grip it harder and hastily pull it away from him. Letting out a shaky breath, she tries to ignore the tingling in her fingertips as she glances down at her lap, seeing him sit next to her on the bench from the corner of her eye with a few inches between them. Felicity tries not to think about the last time they'd been sitting like this next to each other.

"So," Oliver starts lamely with a glance her way but pauses, not really knowing how to continue. She sighs and lifts her free hand to run her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes behind her glasses.

"I don't," she pauses for a few seconds to think over her words carefully, "I don't really know why you wanted to talk, Oliver. I told you that I can take care of this myself. You don't - you're off the hook, okay? We don't even know each other."

He remains silent for a moment before breathing in deeply and letting it out, his voice catching in his throat. "Take care of it? Meaning?"

Felicity's head snaps towards him at the question, her mouth falling open at its implication. In that moment, the answer to the question she's been asking herself for days becomes clear. Truthfully, she's known the answer the entire time. "I went to the doctor and they did an ultrasound and… And I saw it. It was like this," a small smile tugs up the corner of her mouth against her will at the memory, "It was like this little grey peanut." Tears start to form in her eyes and she lifts her chin, tilting her head to meet his waiting gaze, "I can't get an abortion. I just can't." She respects a woman's right to choose and any woman who makes that choice, but after seeing her baby, she just doesn't think she could go through with it.

Surprisingly, Oliver lets out a sigh of relief and nods, "Okay." Honestly, he has never been so relieved in his entire life. He knows that it'd be her choice, and even though he is absolutely terrified right now, the thought of her terminating the pregnancy caused a deep ache in his chest that is now slightly alleviated.

"Okay?" She arches a brow before furrowing them in confusion, "Wait, you don't… You don't want me to get rid of it? You're not gonna pay me to? Or accuse me of lying for your money?"

He flinches, taken aback by her accusations. _Is that really what people think of him?_ "Felicity, I know that we don't really know each other but I would _never_ do that. Again, I know I don't know you but… You don't seem like the type of girl to lie about something like this. Plus, I know that – that you were a virgin."

A heated blush colors her cheeks at the mention of her inexperience and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I… Why did _you_ lie?" she accuses with a new fire in her voice, angling her body slightly towards him to meet his eyes. "You and Laurel aren't broken up. You _cheated_ on her; you made _me_ a cheater, Oliver. And now… Karma really is a bitch, huh?"

Guilt bubbles up inside him and he avoids her gaze before clearing his throat, "I uh, I'm not a good guy, Felicity. And I'm sorry. But I won't… I'm not gonna let you go through this alone." Scooting closer to her on the bench, he reaches out, surprising them both when he grabs her hand in his. She angles her chin towards him with watery eyes, her breath hitching in her throat. Oliver squeezes her fingers in assurance as he moves another inch closer to her, a determined look coloring his features, "Felicity, I promise you. I'm here. We – we'll figure this out, okay? We can talk to our parents, we can –"

Her eyes widen and she shoots up to her feet, staring down at him and pointing an accusing finger right in his face, "Oliver Queen, if you say that you want to get married, I will hit you so hard. It'll probably hurt me more than you, but I'll do it!"

"Woah, Felicity, calm down. That's –"

She interrupts him again, this time with a glare. "You should learn right now to never tell a girl to calm down. Especially one that is all hormonal or whatever," she finishes with a weird hand gesture, as if that's supposed to sum up everything she's feeling at the moment - which, in her defense, is _a lot._

Oliver stands from the bench, his hands raised in surrender, "Okay. But I'm not saying that we should get married, believe me. That's the last thing that I want."

Now she's offended. Felicity cocks a hip and rests her hand on it, arching her brows at him behind her glasses. "Oh, so being with me would be your worst nightmare now? Cause you seemed pretty eager the last time."

"No! I – I didn't," he pauses and takes in a deep breath, dragging his hands down his face to try and collect himself. "Okay, let's back up. Can we sit back down please?" At her slight nod, he settles back on the bench and waits a few seconds for her to join before continuing, "What I was _going_ to say is that we can figure this out together."

After taking him in with narrowed eyes, she deflates at the sincerity she finds there. "Okay. Gimme your phone." She holds out her hand expectantly and he hesitates, causing her to roll her eyes, "Relax. I want to put my phone number in."

He complies but realizes that it's locked a second after handing it over, "Wait, let me unlock it." His mouth falls open slightly as he watches her bypass the code in seconds and open his contacts to add her information. "Wh – how did you do that?"

Felicity rolls her eyes once again, not even looking up as she answers, "I've been building computers since I was seven, I think I can get through a simple four-digit passcode."

The corners of his mouth tick up in amusement and he finds himself distracted, just watching her. Her thumbs move fast across the screen and her brow is furrowed in concentration, glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of her nose and bottom lip tugged between her teeth. He is so distracted that he doesn't notice his phone being held out between them until she says his name. "Huh?"

A small smile forms on her lightly painted lips, "Here."

"Right," he nods and takes the phone from her outstretched hand, slipping it back into the pocket of his jeans.

Having noticed the time when she was putting in her phone number, Felicity adjusts her glasses and scoots towards the edge of the bench, "I have to get home, I have a lot of homework."

"Right, yeah. Let's go," Oliver stands and she follows, stepping along beside him as they make their way to his car. The ride home is similar to the ride there, but the silence is slightly less tense now that they've cleared the air just a bit. Their talk is nothing compared to what they'll have to discuss in the future, but it was something. When they pull up in front of her house, both Oliver and Felicity step out of the car before he walks her to the door, much to her surprise. He doesn't know why he did it though because now, they are standing awkwardly on the front porch, both staring at the ground and waiting for the other person to speak first. Realizing that she certainly isn't going to say anything, Oliver clears his throat. "So… I'll text you?"

"Sure," she mutters with a nod before turning, wrapping her hand around the doorknob.

At the last second, Oliver stops her from opening the door, "Felicity." She shifts her body halfway towards him and peers over her shoulder with furrowed brows, and he acts quickly, moving on pure instinct. Taking a step forwards, he opens his arms and wraps them around her, pulling her into a tight hug. Felicity remains stiff against him, eyes open wide in shock at his actions before the weight of the past few weeks hits her, immediately clouding her vision with tears. Finally, she wraps her own arms around his waist, falling into his embrace and burying her face in the space between his neck and shoulder.

Sighing, Oliver closes his eyes and breathes in, enjoying her flowery scent and pushing away the thoughts of how her body fits perfectly against his, molding to every curve and slope. He's reminded of how natural it felt to be with her that night, and he immediately scolds himself.

Several minutes pass before a particularly strong gust of wind brings them back to reality, back to where they are. Slowly, Felicity pulls away with her chin tilted down, cheeks flushing at the realization that she'd just been clinging onto Oliver Queen like her life depended on it. She tucks a loose strand from her ponytail back behind her ear, "I'll see you at school."

He doesn't get a chance to respond as she whips around, opening the door and closing it behind her in seconds, putting a solid barrier between them. Oliver lets out a long breath and flexes his hand where it hangs by his side, the pain suddenly coming back, before turning and walking back to his car.


	7. Chapter 7

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Oliver stares intently at the screen of his phone, waiting for it to signal a new text message. Since talking some things out with Felicity at the park the other day, he's texted her at least ten times with no response. Every single time he's tried to talk to her at school, she'd managed to avoid him. And she still hasn't answered his latest message. He clicks on her name again, holding the phone to his ear before it gets sent to voicemail. Hanging up, he mutters a few swear words under his breath and closes his eyes, dragging a hand down his face.

"Ollie?"

He removes his hand and opens his eyes, tilting his chin towards the doorway of his room to see Thea walking through with furrowed brows. Locking his phone, he sets it face down beside him and scoots to sit at the edge of the bed, his legs dangling over the side. "Speedy, what's up?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," she narrows her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she moves further into his room. Thea stops when she is standing in front of him, tilting her chin up in a nod towards him, "What's going on with you, Ollie? You've been acting… weird lately."

His breath hitches in his throat but he tries to cover it up with a shrug, "No I haven't."

"Yes, you have," she insists. Thea sighs and arches a brow, "Is this about Dad? Cause he threatened to cut you off again?"

"No. Thea, I'm fine."

She groans, uncrossing her arms and letting them fall to her sides, "Stop. Just stop lying to me, Ollie. Please. I'm your sister, you can talk to me." Her expression softens and she settles next to him on the bed, reaching over and grabbing his hand in hers. "Please."

Tilting his head towards his baby sister, he contemplates what he can do in this moment: he can keep lying and insist that nothing is wrong, or he can confide in her. He can finally lift the weight that's been on his shoulders by telling someone what is going on. Oliver exhales slowly, breaking eye contact to look down at his lap where her hand rests atop his own. "You're right. Something is going on. I – I did something."

"What did you do? Did you get in trouble with the cops again?"

Oliver chuckles at that, remembering all the times he's been arrested by Detective Lance, Laurel's father. There was the time he and Tommy got caught trespassing near some lake, a few times they got caught drinking or smoking weed. And he'll never forget the time he peed on Lance's cop car. "No, I didn't do anything illegal this time."

"Good," Thea exhales a laugh before sobering, squeezing his hand, "Then what?"

After a few seconds of building up the courage, he admits, "I cheated on Laurel." He waits with baited breath for Thea's response, for her to freak out and yell at him. But the yelling never comes. Instead, she remains silent until calmly speaking up.

"So, you _did_ make out with Helena Bertinelli?"

"What?" he turns his head to look at her, brows furrowed before he remembers the rumor she heard a few days ago. Oliver shakes his head, "No. That's – that's not it. A few weeks ago, at a party… I slept with someone else."

Thea cringes, her face twisting in disgust, "Ew. I do not need the image of my brother having sex in my mind."

Oliver chuckles at her words; she never fails to make him laugh, even when he is at his worst. "Speedy, that is really not the point here."

"Right, right. Sorry." She rocks back and forth where she sits, "So… Who's the girl?"

"No one. Just… I didn't know her."

"Classy." He sends a glare her way and she has the decency to shrug sheepishly, silently apologizing for teasing him. "Why don't you just tell Laurel the truth? People make mistakes, I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"Not this time," he mutters. "Thea, I really messed up. I don't know what to do."

"Ollie," she begs, tugging on his hand to force him to meet her pleading eyes. "What is going on?"

"The girl," he hesitates, wondering if he really should be telling her this. But the need to confess this secret to someone takes over and he can't stop the words from tumbling past his lips, "She's pregnant."

Thea freezes at his confession, her eyes widening so much they nearly pop out of her skull. She doesn't know what to say, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

The silence is terrifying because - for the first time maybe, ever - in that moment, Oliver doesn't know what his sister is thinking. All her life, she's never been able to hide anything from him. If she's sad, he's the first one to make her laugh. If she's happy, he's the first one she celebrates with. If she's angry, he lets himself be her punching bag. And every single time, he can see what she's feeling shining through her eyes; no one can read Thea like he can. But right now, she's a closed book, and it terrifies him. Maybe she is finally seeing him for who he is, not the protective older brother who can do no wrong. Maybe this is the straw that'll break the camel's back.

Without saying anything, Thea shuffles closer to him where they sit at the edge of the bed and intertwines her arm with his, leaning her head against his shoulder. They stay like that in a comfortable silence, her presence being exactly what Oliver needs.

* * *

"Mom?" Felicity says, knocking on the door to her mother's 'office', which is really just a mess of a room filled with clothes, shoes, and a yoga mat in the center.

Donna unfolds herself from the pretzel-like position she was in and pauses the music sounding from her iPhone, what she calls her 'calming tunes'. She tightens her ponytail and brings a towel to her forehead to wipe away the nonexistent sweat before smiling at her daughter, "Hi, baby girl. What's up?"

"Um," the younger blonde fidgets with her fingers in front of her lower stomach, lifting one hand to adjust her glasses, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course you can." Donna opens her mouth, eyes widening as she claps her hands together in excitement, "Is this about a boy? That cute one that came to our house?"

She blushes, "Mom, no. Not – not really…"

"Well, what is it hun?" Donna grabs her hand, tugging her over to the two chairs near the corner of the room.

Felicity hesitates, wondering if she should tell her mom the truth or not. It would be nice to confide in her, but she is also terrified of how she'll react. Out of both her parents, she knows her mom will be the most understanding, but still. It's a scary thought. "I have to tell you something but I - I don't know how you'll react or… I don't know what to do, Mom."

Her brows furrow in concern and she extends an arm forward, wrapping her fingers around her daughter's, "Sweetie, what's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know that."

"I, uh… I went to a party a few weeks ago with Iris. And something happened. I mean, I did something."

"Oh," Donna exhales in relief, resting a hand over her heart and chuckling, "Felicity, honey, it's alright to go to parties and drink with your friends as long as you do it responsibly, which I have faith you did. You're always responsible, my little angel." She lifts a hand to Felicity's cheek, rubbing her thumb across her skin lovingly.

At her mother's words, Felicity's stomach forms knots. She is _anything_ but responsible, and she wishes all she did at that party was drink. In fact, she didn't _even_ drink! She shakes her head, "Mom -"

"- Felicity!" Both Smoak women turn their heads towards the sound, Noah appearing in the doorway. He sighs, "There you are. Why aren't you working on your homework?"

"Sorry, I was just talking to Mom about something."

"Well, your schoolwork comes first. Go to your room and finish up, then I want you to work on building that computer," he instructs.

She nods weakly, "Okay." Felicity watches as he walks away before turning to face her mom, smiling briefly, "I better go." She stands but Donna's words make her pause.

"Are you sure? Because if there is something else you want to talk about, we can. Just ignore your dad."

Thinking for a few seconds, she contemplates the offer before shaking her head and forcing a smile, "Nope, I'm good. Thanks." Felicity turns on her heels and sucks in a sharp breath as she leaves, heading down the hallway towards her bedroom.

* * *

Adjusting her glasses as they slip down the bridge of her nose, Felicity tries to focus on her AP Calculus textbook, but the numbers and letters all just blend together. She sighs and pushes the book a few inches away, rubbing her fingers against her tired eyes behind her glasses. The past few days have been so stressful, with school and trying to hide the symptoms of her pregnancy from her parents. She thought that she would feel relieved after telling Oliver the truth and their conversation, but she just feels more confused than ever. Which is why she's been ignoring him, tampering down the guilt every time she pushes the 'ignore' button when he calls.

"Felicity." Speak of the devil.

Her glasses fall back in place as she lifts her chin, wide eyes landing on Oliver making his way towards the table she's sitting at. Nerves bubble up in her stomach as she glances around the room, noticing a few other students take note of the scene, one girl even shushing Oliver with a glare.

When Felicity doesn't respond, he stops in front of the table and says her name again. "Felicity, where have you been? I've been calling and texting you nonstop."

"I – I can't talk right now," she tilts her chin down and slides her textbook closer, "I'm studying."

Oliver leans forward and pulls the book out of reach, flipping it shut, "No. We need to talk."

"Shh, you're making a scene," she whispers tersely, running her fingers through her ponytail as she usually does when she's uncomfortable.

He huffs, holding his arms out to each side and looking around, "I can make an even bigger one, or you can _talk to me."_

Felicity shoots out of her chair and wraps her fingers around his wrist, yanking him along as she moves through the library, weaving through bookshelves until they reach the back shelves where no one usually goes. Once they stop moving, she throws down his arm and whirls on him, her ponytail nearly whipping him in the face. "What is wrong with you? You may like the entire school fawning over your business, but I don't."

The corners of his mouth tick up against his will, "My _business?"_

"I -" she pauses, realizing the double meaning behind her words. She lifts a hand, pointing a finger in front of his face, "That is not what I meant." Oliver can't stop the chuckle that escapes past his lips and she groans, shoving both hands against his chest and groaning even more when he barely even moves. _Damn his firm chest._ "Shut up."

Oliver presses his lips together in a barely-there smile, "Sorry." She rolls her eyes at the smug look on his face and folds her arms across her chest, waiting for him to say more. "Why have you been ignoring me? And don't say -"

"I haven't -"

"- you haven't," he finishes for her with an arched brow and she ducks her chin sheepishly. Oliver sighs and rubs a hand over his face, "You've been avoiding me. I just want to talk."

"I thought we already did that."

"Well, I want to talk more. C'mon, Felicity. I told you that I was going to be here for you, and that's all I'm trying to do. But you gotta meet me halfway," he tilts his head, searching her face until she meets his eyes. "I'm _trying."_

After a few seconds locked in a staring match, Felicity gives in with a dejected sigh, her shoulders sagging and her arms falling limply to her sides, "I know. I'm sorry that I've – that I've been ignoring you. It's just… a lot to deal with and I don't know how."

"Neither do I," he laughs breathlessly, because why would she think that he has any idea what the hell he's doing, ever? "Look, can we just take this one step at a time? Talk things out?"

Felicity tugs her bottom lip between her teeth as she thinks before nodding slightly, "Yeah. Yeah, we can talk."

"Okay," he breathes a sigh of relief. "My parents are out of town. We can go to my house after school."

She agrees, "Fine. Can I go back to studying now?"

Sending her his famous grin, Oliver raises his hands in defense, "Hey, don't let me stop you." She rolls her eyes and moves around him, oblivious to the fact that he watches her until she disappears around the corner.

* * *

The car pulls to a stop in front of the Queen's mansion and Felicity stares up at it in awe as she steps out of Oliver's convertible, her bag slung over her shoulder. "Wow," she exhales, "And I thought _Tommy's_ house was big."

Oliver chuckles and slams the door shut, locking the car before leading the way up the rest of the driveway to the front door. "It's not that big."

She scoffs, "Oliver, my house could probably fit in here like, five times. Scratch that – probably ten times." Following him up the stairs, she waits as he unlocks the door, hands fidgeting nervously. "Are you sure your parents aren't here?"

"I told you, they're out of town. I promise."

Nodding, Felicity enters the house after him, mouth falling open as she gazes around the foyer. She feels like she's in a castle, what with the high ceilings and double staircases leading to a large, overlooking balcony. Her eyes widen and she takes a half-step back behind Oliver when she hears footsteps coming towards them from what she assumes is the living room.

"Ollie, what's for dinner tonight? Can we order pizza? Mom left some money on the -" Thea pauses when she sees the blonde accompanying her brother and she crosses her arms, a smile tugging up the corners of her mouth as she puts the puzzle pieces together. "Hi. You must be my future sister-in-law."

"What?" Felicity croaks out, hearing Oliver groan next to her. She stares at the young girl, she's probably 14 or 15, and assumes that this is Oliver's sister.

"Question," Thea continues without a thought, "Can I be the baby's godmother? I mean, I know I'll be their Aunt, but I _really_ wanna be the godmother too. Can the godmother even be someone related to the baby or does it have to be like, a family friend or something?"

"Thea!" Oliver scolds. He gulps as Felicity whirls on him, her face beat red either out of anger or embarrassment.

"You told your sister?!"

 _Yup. Anger it is._ "I –" he pauses and shrugs a shoulder helplessly, "She's my sister."

The brunette in question takes a step forward, extending a hand lightly and drawing her brows together, "Hey, don't worry. I won't tell anyone, I promise. I'm really good at keeping secrets." When the older girl lets out a shaky breath, she takes that as a sign that she may be calming down and smiles, "I'm Thea, by the way."

"Felicity," she supplies, eyeing her carefully from behind her glasses.

"Nice to finally meet you. I have a feeling we'll be getting to know each other really well. Oh! We should go shopping together!" Thea nearly bounces in place with excitement at the potential new best friend.

Oliver interrupts Felicity just as she opens her mouth to speak with a clap of his hands, "Alright! We're going upstairs." He grabs Felicity's hand and tugs her up the stairs behind him, ignoring Thea's call of 'keep the door open, you crazy kids!' as they near his bedroom. Once they're inside, he closes the door behind them and shoves his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, "Sorry about… her. She doesn't really have any boundaries."

"Yeah, I got that," she snarks back, but she can't completely hide the small smile threatening to take over her face at the spunky young girl. "So… you told your sister?"

He shuffles his feet, avoiding her eyes, "I'm sorry, I just… I needed to talk to someone and I trust her."

"It's fine, Oliver." He lifts his chin, surprised at the now-calm look on her face. "I'm not mad. I told my two best friends so, I get it." Nodding, he watches as she moves around his room, picking up and examining a couple things as she goes. She pauses when she gets to the shelf above the fireplace and runs her fingers lightly along the edge of the mantle, just barely grazing the smooth wood of the miniature sailboat on display. Pulling her hand back, she sucks in a sharp breath and turns back to face him. "Nice room."

"Thanks," he smiles in amusement at her obvious curiosity. Taking a few steps forward, he tilts his head towards the sitting area of his room before settling in the blue arm chair, "You can sit down. I mean, you're probably tired. And I read that your feet are probably swollen or… something," he finishes lamely, cheeks turning pink as he lifts a hand to scratch at the back of his neck.

"What, did you do research or something?" Felicity asks with an amused tone to her voice as she takes a seat on the couch, dropping her bag to the floor by her feet.

 _Yes._ "No," he answers immediately before rubbing across the back of his neck. "Maybe. I don't know, I just saw it somewhere." When Oliver hears her try and stifle a laugh, he lifts his chin and narrows his eyes at her. "Anyway," he changes the subject, clearing his throat, "Have you – have you decided what you want to do?"

"Not since we last talked. I still don't think I'd be able to go through with an abortion, so I guess… I don't know, I guess that means I'm gonna have it." She breathes out in frustration, "I'm not ready for this, Oliver. I can't be a _mom."_

He silently agrees – there is no way in hell that he's ready to be a father. "There's… There's always adoption, right? I mean, would you want that?"

"I don't know. Maybe," she shrugs, meeting his eyes. "I'm sixteen, you're seventeen. We're not... We're not together. What kind of life could we give a baby? We would be responsible for a _human life,_ and I don't know if I can do that. I've never thought of myself as being a mom. I want to graduate, and go to MIT, and start my own company. Is it selfish to want that? Am I a terrible person for wanting that?"

"Hey, no," Oliver scoots forwards until he sits at the edge of the chair and reaches out, placing his hands around both of hers. "Felicity, you are the farthest thing from a terrible person, trust me. You're allowed to be selfish in this situation. And logically, you're right. We're young, we're not a couple. Yeah, my family has money, but there are a lot of people out there who can't start a family on their own. We'd be giving that to them. That can't be selfish, right?"

The corners of her mouth tick up weakly as she blinks, pushing back the tears that had started to gather. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

He returns her smile with one of his own, squeezing her hands in reassurance and ignoring the fluttering in his chest at the warmth of her hands and the sparkling blue of her eyes. "I was thinking that we should probably tell our parents about this. Since you're gonna have it, we can't hide it forever. Eventually you'll start to get fa –" he cuts himself off at the glare that hardens across her face. "You'll – you'll… grow?"

Felicity chuckles at the nervous uptick in his voice, just something about him not allowing her to be offended in the slightest. She glances down at her lap, thinking over his suggestion carefully, dread building up in her stomach the longer she considers it. Telling her parents is the last thing she wants to do, and knowing she'll have to eventually is quite possibly the scariest part of this entire situation. Telling her mom wouldn't be the problem - no, she almost did confess everything to Donna on several occasions now. Although they've never been extremely close, due to the fact that they are so fundamentally different, she loves her mom and knows she can trust her. Noah, on the other hand… Her and her father are so similar, and that is probably why they don't always get along. While she inherited her intellect and computer skills from him, she also inherited his stubbornness and determination to do things on her own. When she was young, Noah started teaching her about computers - how to use them, how to build them, how to code. He's always pushed her to do her best, never accepting anything less, which can be both good and bad. Good because it's helped her to succeed, but bad in the sense that she's never felt good enough to be his daughter, never felt like she could ever live up to his high expectations.

Realizing she's been silent for too long, Felicity forces a weak smile and meets his eyes, "I want to wait as long as I possibly can to destroy my parents lives."

"C'mon, I'm sure they'll support you. My parents on the other hand… Well, they might just disown me," he attempts to joke and smiles when it elicits a laugh from her pink-painted lips.

"Ollie!" Thea yells from downstairs. "Pizza is here!"

At her words, Felicity's eyes light up and her stomach grumbles causing Oliver to let out a hearty laugh. He stands and holds out a hand, finding the blush coloring her cheeks extremely cute. "C'mon, if we don't go now, Thea will eat it all." She laughs and places her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Neither of them even notice that they don't let go of each other's hands until they reach the kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Swinging the bat as hard as he can, Oliver watches as it connects with the baseball and sends it crashing into the net, immediately readying himself for the next ball to shoot out of the cannon. Baseball has always been a way for him to relieve the tension and stress in his life, even before the school's season starts come springtime. Luckily, their school has its own batting cages for the team to use in the off season for practice until actual practices start up. It's been a week since his last talk with Felicity – when she came to his house and met Thea - and thankfully, she is no longer ignoring him. He's had some time to think about things, truly think. Even though he told her that he would support her decision no matter what, and even though it had been his suggestion to begin with, he cannot stop thinking about how much he doesn't want to give the baby up for adoption. As terrified as he is of this entire situation and how unsure he is about being a father – a _good_ father – the thought of having another family raise their baby sends his stomach into knots. The worst part is that he can't explain why he feels this way, because he sure as hell doesn't even _understand_ it.

The machine makes a whooshing sound and he squints as another baseball flies towards him before being sent back by the force of his swing. Oliver hits the last few balls before the machine runs out and he leans the bat against the half-wall by the door, taking off his helmet and lifting his shirt to wipe away a few beads of sweat from his forehead. Though the indoor cages are in an air-conditioned basement, he still feels hot from the exertion. Moving throughout the enclosed area, he begins picking up the scattered baseballs so he can load them back into the machine for another round of hits before hearing soft footsteps. He peers over his shoulder and sighs at the sight of his best friend walking closer, turning back to continue his task.

"What's wrong?" Tommy asks, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the wall outside the cage.

"Nothing," he responds without looking back.

Tommy scoffs, pushing off the wall and moving closer to the cage, "We don't start practice for a couple weeks, and you always come here when you're stressed. Or pissed. What's up?"

Dropping the last ball into the machine, he no longer has an excuse not to face his friend. Oliver sighs and turns around, scratching the back of his neck and closing the distance between them by leaning his forearms on the half-wall separating them. "Nothing's up, just… Relieving some tension."

"Something going on with Laurel? Are you fighting again?"

Oliver barely manages to hold in a groan at the thought of his girlfriend. They hung out a few times in the past couple weeks but he's been avoiding being alone with her as much as possible. Keeping this secret and thinking about how she'll react when she finds out that not only did he cheat on her, but he got another girl pregnant, has been tearing him apart inside. No matter what his actions may lead someone to believe, he truly does love her and the thought of hurting her is unbearable. Dodging the question, he shakes his head. "Nah, just family stuff." Not a _total_ lie…

"Is it your dad?" Tommy asks on instinct, leaning forward and mimicking his best friend's position opposite him. One of the many things the two boys have in common is the difficulties with their fathers, Tommy's own being verbally abusive ever since his mom, Rebecca, passed away when he was seven.

"Yep." Again, not a lie. His dad has been stressing him out lately, among other things. "He's just putting on some pressure about school and QC. It's stressing me out a bit, so I needed to clear my head." Tommy arches a brow in a silent request to elaborate, and he continues, "He threatened to cut me off if I don't go to college right after graduation."

He chuckles, "Man, I think our dads talk about us cause mine said the same thing."

"Yeah, so things are just a little weird at home, that's all."

Tommy narrows his eyes at his best friend, deciding whether he should believe him, "That's all?"

Meeting his eyes, Oliver pauses for a moment before deciding against every instinct in him telling him to trust the friend who has been more like a brother to him. "That's all."

"Alright," Tommy slaps his hands down on the ledge of the wall and straightens. "Hey, next weekend is your birthday and I'm throwing you a party at my house. It's supposed to be a surprise though, so you have to act like you didn't know about it."

He lets out a laugh, "Then why did you just tell me about it?"

The other teen's face falls before he shrugs it off, "Shut up. Just act surprised." Tommy claps a hand on his shoulder and turns, heading out of the basement of the school, leaving Oliver to work out his stress.

* * *

Walking into the living room holding her brother's cell phone out to him where he is settled on the couch watching TV, Thea rolls her eyes before dropping the phone on the cushion next to him, "Laurel called you again."

Oliver darts his eyes towards his phone before facing the screen again, not saying anything in response. He doesn't want to talk to her because every time he does, it's all just one big lie.

The younger Queen narrows her eyes and settles on the armrest of the couch, "You still haven't told her, have you?"

He chuckles, though it lacks any sense of real humor, "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"C'mon, Ollie. You can't keep this a secret forever. I mean, Felicity's going to keep it, right?"

Sighing, he lifts a hand and drags it down his face, using the other to turn off whatever movie is on, which he wasn't even paying attention to. He knows that Thea is right but he doesn't care. He's too much of a coward to face the truth of his actions and live with the full effect of the consequences. "Is she gonna have it? Yeah. Is she gonna keep it? I don't know."

Thea remains silent for a few moments, "Well, are you gonna tell Mom and Dad at least?"

He sends her an incredulous look, like he can't even believe she would suggest such a thing. The more he's thought about it, the more he's realized how terrible of an idea that is. "I like my heart beating , thanks. They'll kill me, Speedy, especially Dad."

"So, you're just never going to tell them? Ollie…"

"Tell us what?" Moira's voice cuts through the siblings' conversation as she moves under the archway and into the living room. Both of their eyes widen and Thea looks to him, mouthing an apology before sliding to her feet and making a quick exit.

Robert enters just as his daughter scurries past him, stepping beside his wife and following her gaze to Oliver with furrowed brows. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, there is a secret that Oliver has been keeping from us."

His father groans, "Did you get suspended? Expelled?"

"No," he shakes his head and gulps, "It has nothing to do with school." At both of their curious looks, he leans his elbows forward to rest on his knees. Oliver exhales and buries his face in both hands, knowing that he's trapped; he can't get out of this right now. "I screwed up," he admits, "It's… It's bad."

Moira's eyes soften and she steps forward, sitting down next to him on the couch and placing a comforting hand in the middle of his back. "What happened?"

Avoiding his parents' gazes burning into his skin like lasers, Oliver stares at his lap where his forefingers and thumb of both hands are rubbing together from nerves. _Well,_ he decides, _it's now or never._ "I got a girl pregnant."

"Laurel's pregnant?" the older woman asks immediately, brows drawn together in concern.

He lets out a long breath, knowing that this is the worst part of it all. "No. Not Laurel."

Realization dawns on them and Moira dips her chin, bringing a hand to lay across her forehead and leaning back against the couch. Robert, on the other hand, doesn't remain as calm. Surprising the other two in the room, he starts chuckling where he stands a few feet away.

Moira arches an unimpressed brow at her husband, "Is something about this funny?"

"Please, please tell me that this is some kind of joke. One of yours and Tommy's pranks," Robert asks - no, pleads.

Seeing the desperation behind his father's eyes, Oliver quickly avoids his gaze and clears his throat, "No, I - I cheated on Laurel. And the girl… She's pregnant."

The older man's face drops at the truth he can hear in Oliver's tone and the room falls silent around them, everyone taking some time to think about this news and collect themselves. Finally, Moira's voice cuts through the tension of the room when she speaks up, "Are you sure it's yours? Where there is money, there are people looking to take advantage."

Oliver straightens, shaking his head in denial because _no,_ Felicity is the farthest thing from that kind of girl. "No. No, she's not that type of person. She's a good person, Mom, she's -"

"- Alright, alright," she stops him, reaching out a hand to place on his forearm. Oliver's breath stutters and he looks back down at his lap. He wants to be anywhere but here, doing anything else other than having this conversation. Them knowing makes it real, making him realize that the news will get out eventually, spreading like wildfire as does every other piece of gossip involving him around school. And then he'll lose Laurel, and maybe his friends, and now maybe even his parents.

Breaking the silence the three had once again fallen into, Robert can barely contain his anger as he tries not to yell, "I cannot believe this, Oliver. How could you be so irresponsible?! You have made a lot of mistakes in your life – drinking, drugs, getting involved with the police. But _this?_ This is a _child,_ Son."

"I _know_ that!" he defends himself, shuffling to the edge of the couch. "I didn't do this on purpose! We were careful, I swear, but it happened anyway. It was an accident. I shouldn't have cheated on Laurel because obviously, this is what I get for it."

"Sweetheart, it's okay. We'll take care of this," Moira nods her head in sympathy, squeezing his arm where her hand still lays.

At her words, Oliver's heart stops beating in his chest. He slowly tilts his chin to meet her eyes and takes a deep breath, fearing to hear her answer to the question he is about to ask. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I'm sure once we meet with this girl, we can come to an arrangement. Oliver, we need to ensure your future, and that future does not include being a teenage father."

"Are -" he pauses and shakes his head before abruptly rising to his feet. "Are you talking about _paying_ Felicity to, what? Get an abortion?"

Seeing his reaction and sensing that he is getting upset, Moira stands and reaches out for him, "Oliver, darling…"

"No!" he takes a step back, pushing her hands away. "She - she would _never_ accept money for that. She doesn't even want… She's keeping it. I mean, she's _having_ it. Felicity would never accept our money. How could you even suggest that?"

"Sweetheart, we just want the best for you and it isn't _this."_

"Well, that's my decision, isn't it?"

Moira sighs and tilts her head, thinking over her words carefully as to not upset him more and lead him to do something rash. "Alright, let's just settle down. Your father and I have some things to talk about and then… We'll discuss this with you later, okay?"

His shoulders drop slightly in relief and he sends the barest of nods, "Okay."

"Go to your room," Robert finally cuts in, having stayed silent for a long time.

At the look in his father's eyes, Oliver doesn't object and leaves the living room, heading for the stairs. Once he reaches his room, he closes the door behind him and leans his back on it. A soft thud echoes off the high ceilings of the room as his head falls against the wood and he closes his eyes, breathing in deeply a few times. He isn't sure what he was expecting from that eventual conversation, but it wasn't _that._ He thought there would be hours of yelling, not… Whatever that was. And knowing his mother, he shouldn't have been surprised by her casual suggestion, but the thought of it made his stomach churn. After this, he can't even imagine what telling Laurel will be like, and he really does not want to find out.

* * *

Walking up the driveway towards the Merlyn's front door, Oliver exhales a long breath to prepare himself for the surprise birthday party he's about to walk into. Honestly, he's looking forward to it; he needs this after not talking to his parents for several days. The tension in his house over the past week has been almost unbearable, awkward silence overtaking every encounter. Spending a night celebrating his birthday and drinking with his friends is exactly what he needs.

As soon as Oliver opens the door, everyone inside stops their conversations to turn around and scream 'surprise!' at different times. Even though he knew beforehand about the party, he still pretends to be shocked by the dozens of high school students, all in various states of intoxication. A large smile overtakes his face at the sight of his best friend and he lets Tommy tug him into a hug, clapping a hand on his back.

When they pull apart, Tommy turns to address everyone, "Good job guys, I think we got him!" The comment earns him a round of chuckles and the party resumes as it was before Oliver arrived.

He is about to open his mouth to thank Tommy for the effort he put into this when he feels thin arms wrap around his waist from behind. Knowing who it is immediately, he tries to keep his body relaxed and places his hands atop the smaller ones resting on his stomach. Oliver turns and forces a smile as he glances down at his girlfriend, "Hey."

"Hi," Laurel grins, leaning up on her tiptoes to place a quick peck to his lips. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," he breathes out. The conversation has barely lasted ten seconds and he already feels anxious. Hands traveling around his back to grab hers, he carefully removes her arms. "I'm gonna go get a drink. I'll meet up with you later, okay?" He doesn't wait for a response before moving around Laurel and through the crowd to find the keg, needing some alcohol if he's going to get through the rest of the night.

After a few hours, Oliver feels his phone vibrating in the back pocket of his jeans. He chuckles at some stupid story Tommy is telling to the rest of the guys on their baseball team and reaches into his pocket, brows furrowing at the name flashing across the screen this late. Excusing himself from his friends, Oliver takes a few steps until he's standing against a wall and answers the call. "Hello? Felicity?"

 _"Oliver?"_ Felicity's voice crackles through the phone, followed by a sniffle.

His frown deepens, bringing up his other hand to cover his ear so that he can hear her better. "Felicity? Are you okay? Is – is the baby okay?"

 _"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."_ Her voice cracks and he can tell that she's crying. _"Are you at a party?"_

He peers over his shoulder, taking in his surroundings. "Yeah, Tommy threw me a surprise party. It's my birthday."

 _"Oh,"_ she sniffles, _"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you."_

"Felicity, what's wrong? Where are you?" he asks, voice laced with concern.

 _"Nothing, I'm just sitting in Star Park. I'm sorry, just… I shouldn't have bothered you, just forget that I called. I'm sorry."_

"Wait. Felicity -" he stops himself when he hears the line cut off signaling she hung up on him. Sighing, he stares down at the screen of his phone for a few seconds before slipping it back into his pocket. Something is clearly wrong. Without a second thought, Oliver pushes his way through drunk teenagers as he moves towards the door to leave. He doesn't know what's going on; all he knows is that Felicity needs him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Felicity squints behind her glasses, focusing on applying the pale purple nail polish to her toes without messing up. Once she finishes, she screws the top back onto the bottle and sets it aside on the bedside table.

"I like that color on you," Iris compliments from her position sitting with her back against the footboard of her bed, focusing on her own blue toenails. Caitlin nods her head in agreement and the two girls exchange a look, each one encouraging the other to ask their friend the question they both have been dying to ask.

Noticing the glance they share, Felicity narrows her eyes. "Whatever it is, just say it."

Caitlin rolls the desk chair she is sitting in closer to the bed, "Um… Did you tell Oliver about, y'know?"

"About the baby?" she clarifies with an arched brow. The two other girls look to each other again in surprise at her bluntness, having been in denial for so long and avoiding the topic at all costs. Felicity rolls her eyes, "You guys don't have to tiptoe around the subject anymore. I've… accepted this, I guess. I'm still absolutely _terrified,_ but Oliver has been really supportive and calms me down when I start freaking out about what we're going to do."

"Calms you down?" Iris asks as she finishes up her nails and sets aside the bottle.

A small smile tugs at the corners of her lips at the thought of him and she ducks her chin slightly, fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. "Yeah, I mean… I don't know, he just somehow always knows what to say. When I start to panic, he makes some stupid joke or reminds me that everything's gonna be okay."

"Oh no," Iris and Caitlin gasp simultaneously.

Felicity lifts her head and furrows her brows at the worried expressions on both their faces, "What?"

Shaking her head, Caitlin sighs, "You like him."

Taken aback by the accusation, Felicity scoffs out a laugh, "What?" She shakes her head, "No. That's – I do _not_ like Oliver. I mean, I like him, but I don't _like_ like him. That's ridiculous."

"Oh," Iris' face contorts with pity, "You like him a lot, Lis."

 _"No,_ I don't. We're friends. We're not even friends, we just had sex. Aaand that makes me sound really bad, but it's true. I barely know him, how could I like him? I mean, sure, he's cute. _Really_ cute. Okay, he's hot, but that doesn't mean -"

"- Felicity," they both cut off her babbling.

She shrugs, "Sorry."

Reaching out, Caitlin places a hand on Felicity's leg in comfort, "Lis, you can't start liking Oliver. It's only gonna end with you getting hurt. This is Oliver Queen we're talking about, he's a player. I mean, he cheated on Laurel with you."

"You guys don't even know him," she is quick to defend, surprising all three of them. Collecting herself, she continues, "I just mean that he's different when we're alone. Even that night at Tommy's party, I was upset about Cooper and he comforted me. And before you say that he was just doing that so he could hook up with me, you're wrong. I could tell that he meant it, and he's been really supportive through all of this. I'm just saying that he's different when he's not at school, when he's not around all those stupid guys."

Scooting forward on the bed, Iris considers her words carefully. "Maybe you're right; maybe he is different. But you need to be careful, Lis. We're just trying to protect you."

"I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" Caitlin blurts out without thinking and immediately regrets it, the room falling silent around them. She notices the blonde's eyes fill with water and reaches out for her, "Felicity, I didn't -"

"- No, you're right." Felicity slides off the bed, quickly moving around the room to put on her jacket and shoes. A stray tear leaks from the corner of her eye and she hastily wipes it away. She slips her arms into the sleeves of her jacket, turning back to face her supposed best friends. "I mean, obviously, I can't take care of myself. I'm sixteen and pregnant by a guy who will never want to be with me, right?" Without waiting to hear another word, she spins on her heels and all but runs from the room, leaving Iris' house as fast as she possibly can.

* * *

By the time Felicity gets home, she's calmed down a bit and managed to stop crying. Everything Caitlin and Iris said was right, and that's what made her so upset. She doesn't want to admit that she has a crush on Oliver and that maybe that crush is turning into something more… Sighing, she pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind and unlocks the front door, stepping inside her house and closing it behind her. "Mom," she calls out as she sets down her bag, "I'm home. I decided not to sleep at Iris' house tonight." When she turns around to head towards the kitchen for something to drink, she stops at the sight of both her parents sitting on the couch of the living room with solemn looks. Felicity takes a step closer, brows drawn together in concern at the tears on her mother's face. "What's going on?"

Donna reaches forward and grabs what looks like some papers from the coffee table and stares at them in her lap before lifting her chin, holding them up, "Is this yours?"

Her eyes focus in on the familiar pamphlets and her heart drops, breath catching in her throat. Felicity gulps and tries to avoid the question, "Why were you in my room?"

"Felicity, answer the question. Please," Donna pleads.

This is the moment she has been dreading, the moment she has to tell her parents that she's pregnant. But apparently, the pamphlet asking _"Do You Want to Keep Your Baby?"_ has done the job for her. "I… Um… I don't –" she stutters, vision clouding with tears.

Noah stands abruptly and wraps his hand around her wrist, yanking Felicity towards him. She and Donna gasp in unison, the latter shooting to her feet and covering her mouth with both hands. With his other hand, Noah grabs the hem of Felicity's loose shirt and yanks it up to her ribcage revealing creamy skin, taut across the visible bump that seemed to pop overnight sometime last week.

Tears begin leaking down Felicity's cheeks at the look on her father's face and she tries to suck in a steadying breath. "Dad, I can explain, I -"

"- Get the hell out of my house," Noah interrupts, throwing down her wrist and taking a step back, her shirt falling back into place.

Felicity stops breathing, her heart beating so hard she can hear it pounding in her head, "What?" She peers over his shoulder helplessly, "Mom -"

"- Get the hell out of my house!" he yells, not letting Donna object or even speak at all.

She startles at the volume of his voice and steps back. "Mom, please. I – I didn't mean for it to happen! I -" she stutters, voice catching as tears clog her throat.

Donna opens her mouth but before she can say anything, her husband takes a step to the side in order to block her daughter from view. Lifting a hand, Noah points to the door, "Get out of my house right now before I throw you out."

Knowing that he isn't messing around and he _will_ force her outside, Felicity turns and runs to the door, grabbing her already-packed bag on the way and slamming the door shut behind her. Minutes go by where she just runs, not even thinking about where she's going; she just needs to run. That had been exactly what she was afraid of happening, except this was even worse because they found out instead of Felicity getting the chance to tell them. And her father reacted even worse than she thought. What if when he calms down, he doesn't _really_ calm down? What if he doesn't let her come home? What if she just lost her family at a time when she needs them most?

When she gets a cramp in her leg, she is forced to stop running and try to catch her breath. _Wow, she really needs to do more cardio._ She drops her bag to the ground and falls into a crouch, sobs overtaking and making her entire body shake. She doesn't know how long she stays there before realizing this isn't good for the baby; she needs to calm down. Taking in a few long, deep breaths, Felicity wipes at her eyes with the palms of her hands. She keeps her eyes closed for a few minutes until the tears decrease to just a few stray ones and opens them, blinking the cloudiness away.

Glancing around, she takes in her surroundings and quickly recognizes Star Park. A couple lamps light up the area around her and she spots a bench along the other side of the walkway, pushing herself to her feet. She picks up her duffle bag before making her way over, sighing in relief when she settles on the bench with her bag next to her feet.

Felicity tugs her phone out of her jacket and notices how late it is. _11:34 pm._ Opening her contacts, she thinks about who she can call right now, obviously needing a place to sleep considering her parents just disowned her. She could call Oliver. No, she shouldn't bother him. She would call Iris or Caitlin, but considering the fight they just had, she refuses to swallow her pride and cave. Sara? No, because staying with Sara would mean staying with _Laurel,_ aka the girl whose boyfriend's baby is currently growing in her uterus. Felicity sighs, deciding to go with her first instinct and tapping her thumb on Oliver's contact. She bites her bottom lip between her teeth, leg bouncing as it rings.

 _"Hello? Felicity?"_ Oliver answers the phone on the last ring, his voice hard to hear over the pounding music in the background.

Felicity furrows her brows, "Oliver?" She sniffles, wondering what is going on that is so loud.

His next words come out louder than before, _"Felicity? Are you okay? Is – is the baby okay?"_

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she stutters, breath catching in her throat as she lifts a hand to swipe at the tear trailing down her cheek. A small smile ticks up the corners of her mouth at his concern over the baby, but then it falls, "Are you at a party?"

Oliver waits a few seconds before answering, " _Yeah, Tommy threw me a surprise party. It's my birthday."_

"Oh," she sniffles. She didn't know that it's his birthday and now, she is so incredibly embarrassed for bothering him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you."

 _"Felicity, what's wrong? Where are you?"_ he asks.

She glances around the empty park, darkness surrounding her aside from the few street lamps. "Nothing, I'm just sitting in Star Park. I'm sorry, just… I shouldn't have bothered you, just forget that I called. I'm sorry." Felicity barely hears his plea of her name before hanging up, closing her eyes as she stuffs her phone in the pocket of her jacket. She huffs, silently scolding herself for giving in and calling him while he's out partying, celebrating his birthday. And probably with his girlfriend. God, she is so stupid. Bringing her legs off the ground, she wraps her arms around them and hugs her knees to her chest before burying her face in them and crying.

Again, Felicity loses all sense of time as she sobs into her legs. She doesn't even know what she's crying about, really; crying for the family she may have just lost forever, crying for the friends she can't turn to, crying for the guy who will probably never want her. Crying for the baby who deserves a better life than the one she can give them.

A call of her name startles her out of her thoughts and she raises her head, glancing around the park with furrowed brows. She hears it again and drops her legs, spinning on the bench to peer over the back. The sight makes her mouth drop open slightly in surprise and she rises to her feet.

Oliver sighs in relief when he finally sees her, curled up on a bench, alone and in the dark. After ditching the party and driving to Star Park, he'd started searching the entire park for her, knowing she had to be here somewhere. He calls her name a few times to get her attention and closes the distance between them in a light jog. Felicity is standing when he gets there and without even thinking, the relief overcomes him and he pulls her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in the space between her neck and shoulder. Inhaling deeply, a smile finds its way onto his face at the smell of roses coming from her silky-smooth hair.

The surprise of his actions takes a few seconds to ware off but when it does, Felicity encircles his waist and nuzzles her cheek against his shoulder, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm embrace far more than she should. She holds in a disappointed groan when Oliver pulls away way too soon.

Gazing down at her, Oliver lifts his palms to her tear stained cheeks to brush the hair out of her face before traveling down her neck and resting on her shoulders. Arching his brows, he searches until she meets his eyes, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Wh - what are you doing here? What about your party?" Felicity asks, brows drawn together in confusion.

He stares at her like she's grown a second head, "You called me and I could tell you were upset, so I came as fast as I could. What's wrong?"

Tears spring to her eyes at that, her heart melting at the fact that he'd come running just for her. All she wants to do is smile, wrap her arms around him, and never let go. For some reason beyond explanation, she felt safer there seconds ago than she has in a long time, maybe ever. But she can't, because he isn't hers. And she just remembers why she even called him to begin with, the pain from her father's words weighing on her like a ton of bricks.

"Felicity, what's wrong?" he implores again after she remains silent for one second too long.

Her breath catches in her throat at the memory, "My parents… They kicked me out."

 _"What?"_

"They found these pamphlets I got from the doctor and my dad… He was so mad, Oliver. I've never seen him so angry before. The way he looked at me… He hates me," she chokes out a sob, ducking her chin and shaking her head.

He moves a hand to her cheek, forcing her to look up at him, "Hey, that's not true. Your parents don't hate you, Felicity. This probably just came as a shock. Look, my parents are mad too. They just need time to cool down."

"No… I know my dad and he meant what he said. All he's ever wanted is for me to graduate early and then go to MIT, just like he did. And thisruins everything! He'll never forgive me!"

"Felicity, just take a deep breath. Please." She nods along with him, copying the breathing patterns he demonstrates. "Good," he praises when she calms down a little. Oliver takes a small step back and trails his hands along her arms until they meet her own, entwining their fingers. "C'mon, we're going home."

She looks to him in confusion, "We?"

"Yeah," he lets go of one hand to bend down and lift her bag, swinging it over his shoulder, "You're spending the night at my house, okay? I'm not letting you stay out here for a minute longer."

Felicity opens her mouth to object but pauses at the knowing glare he sends her, snapping her lips shut and nodding, "Okay." She lets him tug her along through the park to where he left his car, enjoying the comfortable silence. Unable to stop her eyes from wandering, she finds herself staring at their entwined fingers and holding back a smile, a warm feeling spreading throughout her entire chest. _Damn these stupid hormones._

When they finally reach his car, Oliver opens the passenger door for her, waiting for her to climb in before tossing the bag in the backseat and rounding to get in his own side. Once he's settled, he starts the car and begins driving towards his house.

Remembering their phone conversation earlier, Felicity tilts her chin towards him and speaks up, "Happy birthday."

He huffs a laugh, "Thanks."

"I'm sorry you had to leave your party."

"I'm not," Oliver is quick to respond, shooting her a glance. "Felicity, I told you I would be here and I meant it. Why is it so hard for you to believe I would come when you call?"

This time she lets the smile overtake her face as she stares, unable to keep her eyes off him. Truthfully, it is hard to believe that anyone would be there for her the way he is promising to be, especially when it comes to men. Noah Smoak isn't exactly the epitome of 'Father of the Year'; he's never been there for her, never supported her. All he does is pressure her about school and computers, desperate for her to be as successful as him.

The rest of the car ride flies by with random conversation, Oliver trying to keep her mind off her parents so she doesn't start crying again. When they eventually get to his house and make their way to the front door, Felicity reaches out and wraps her fingers around his wrist to stop him from going inside. "Wait."

He peers over his shoulder, arching a brow in a silent question. When she doesn't respond, just bites her bottom lip between her teeth, he entwines their fingers again and squeezes her hand in comfort. At the small smile she sends him, he unlocks the door and pushes it open. Even though she's already been here, the grandness of everything still takes her breath away; it truly is a beautiful house, even in the darkness of the middle of the night.

Oliver locks the door behind them and silently leads her upstairs, careful not to wake anyone else in the house. He pauses when they reach the platform at the top of the stairs where two hallways diverge and nods towards a closed door, "You can sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight."

"Ca -" she cuts herself off and shakes the thought away, "Never mind. Uh, thanks." Felicity ducks her chin, chewing on her bottom lip.

"No, what is it?"

She sucks in a sharp breath, "I… Can I sleep in your room? I'll – I'll sleep on the couch, I just…"

"Don't want to be alone," Oliver finishes for her with a knowing smile and brings her down the opposite hall towards his bedroom. When he closes the door behind them, he moves to the middle of the room and sets her bag on top of his bed. "The bathroom is over there, you can get ready."

"Thanks."

Heading towards his closet, Oliver watches over his shoulder as she grabs some stuff from her bag and walks to the ensuite bathroom, keeping his eyes on her until the door closes. He exhales slowly, thinking about the past couple hours. When he answered the phone and heard her teary voice, his heart dropped. He's never been that scared before, thinking that something might've happened to her or the baby. He didn't even know that hecould be that scared; the feeling was unexplainable. And the relief he felt when she said she was alright, when he finally found her in the park…

The sound of the door opening pulls him from his thoughts and he moves out of the walk-in closet where he'd subconsciously changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, stopping dead in his tracks when his eyes land on Felicity. She is standing between the bathroom and his bed, hands nervously fidgeting with each other, in sleep shorts and a long-sleeve shirt. But the thing that took his breath away is the small bump underneath the fabric of her shirt, clinging to the slightly fuller stomach that she definitely didn't have the last time he saw her.

Wow. She really is pregnant. With his baby. With their baby.

"Um… Are you okay?" Felicity asks, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Wh -" he clears his throat, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Taking a few steps to his bed, he moves her bag to the floor and pulls back the covers for her, grabbing one of the pillows for himself. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch, but I'll be just over there, okay?"

She peers over at the couch just a few feet away before meeting Oliver's eyes and offering a grateful smile, "Thank you, Oliver. This really means a lot."

Returning a grin of his own, Oliver gets himself settled on the couch as she does the same in his bed. Once he's situated, he gazes at her over the back of the couch, the corners of his mouth ticking up without a thought as she takes off her glasses and sets them on the bedside table before tugging her hair out of its messy ponytail. _She's so cute._ "Goodnight, Felicity."

Felicity smiles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, readjusting the covers. "Goodnight, Oliver," she returns before reaching over and turning off the bedside lamp.


	10. Chapter 10

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

After towel drying his hair, Oliver slips a shirt over his head before opening the bathroom door and stepping back into his room. A smile finds its way onto his face at the sight of Felicity still fast asleep in his bed, face buried into the pillow as she drools slightly. He can smell breakfast coming from downstairs and notices that it's almost 10:30 am. Taking the few steps to the bed, he sits on the edge and lifts a hand to gently shake Felicity awake with a whisper of her name.

"Mmm, five more minutes," she mumbles, weakly brushing messy blonde hair out of her face.

He chuckles, "Breakfast is waiting downstairs if you're hungry."

At his words, one of Felicity's eyes pop open before opening the other and sitting up on her elbows, "Breakfast?"

"Yep," he nods, trying to hold in his laughter.

She quickly whips the covers off, "Well, move so I can get dressed!" Felicity hops out of bed and grabs her bag on her way to the bathroom, turning back briefly to snatch her glasses.

The door slams in his face and Oliver pauses before calling to her through the wood, "So, I'll meet you downstairs?" When he hears a mumbled affirmation, he heads out of his room and down the stairs, nerves bubbling up in his stomach as he hears voices coming from the dining room. Rounding the corner, the rest of his family notices him and all conversation ceases into the familiar awkward silence they all seemed to always settle into since he told them the truth.

"Morning Ollie," Thea greets, her usual cheery self as she chomps happily on a piece of bacon.

"Hey," he nods in greeting before turning his look to his parents and clearing his throat, "Um… So, Felicity is upstairs."

Thea's eyes light up, "Really?"

"Yeah." He shifts uncomfortably at the increasingly angry looks forming on both his parents faces, given what the situation of the girl he accidentally got pregnant having spent the night in his bed could imply. "Look, I know you guys are still mad at me, but she called me last night. Her parents found out about the baby and they kicked her out. She had nowhere else to go."

"So you brought her here?" Robert asks with an arched brow. Before Oliver can respond, he continues, "Well, I guess it's about time we meet this girl."

Confused, Oliver's brows draw together at his father's calm voice. He opens his mouth but before he can speak, he hears soft footsteps coming from behind him and peers over his shoulder. Felicity is standing in the doorway, glasses sitting atop her nose and hair pulled into a neat ponytail. Upon noticing the rest of his family staring at her, her eyes widen slightly and her fingers fidget with each other in front of her slightly rounded stomach. Obviously, she won't be able to hide this at school for much longer.

Breaking the extremely uncomfortable, tension-filled silence, Thea jumps out of her chair and pulls Felicity into a tight embrace, surprising everyone in the room. "Felicity!" she backs away with a huge smile that stretches even more as her eyes flick down to the blonde's stomach, "You look _so_ cute."

"Thanks," Felicity offers weakly, taking a small step into Oliver's side. He wraps an arm around her, placing his hand on her lower back and guiding her a step closer towards the table.

"Uh," Oliver clears his throat, "Felicity, these are my parents. Mom, Dad… This is Felicity."

"Please, have a seat," Moira instructs, gesturing a hand towards the table.

Still slightly confused by how calm his parents are right now, Oliver pulls out the chair next to Thea and waits for Felicity to slide in before settling on her other side. He offers Raisa a thankful smile as she sets down another plate.

Everyone sits in an uncomfortable silence, Thea being the only one to continue eating like nothing disturbed her to begin with. Clearing his throat, Robert speaks up, "I can understand why your parents didn't take too kindly to the news. We're still in a state of shock ourselves."

"I'm sure they didn't mean it when they kicked you out, Felicity," Thea assures, thinking that now that she's in high school she possesses some sort of infinite wisdom. Which she does - she's _Thea Queen._

Felicity offers a weak smile at the attempt, "Trust me, they meant it. Mr. and Mrs. Queen, I'm sorry for… Well, I'm sorry for all of it - this entire situation. But I'm sorry that I stayed here without your permission. I'm going to talk to my best friends Iris and Caitlin; I'm sure one of them will let me stay at their house, at least for the time being."

Lifting a glass of orange juice to her lips, Moira shakes her head, "That won't be necessary. You'll move in here, of course."

 _"What?"_ all three teenagers say at the same time, Thea nearly bouncing in excitement while Felicity and Oliver are frozen in shock, and slight disbelief on the latter's part.

She exchanges a glance with her husband before facing forward again, arching a brow as if what she is saying should be obvious to everyone. "Felicity, you are carrying my grandchild. Any grandchild of mine deserves the best care, therefore you'll be living here. I've already made you an appointment with Doctor Lamb, he's been with our family for years."

At first, Felicity doesn't even know how to respond. _You are carrying my grandchild. He's been with our family for years._ Our family. _Our_ family. It is finally sinking in; her baby was a _Queen._ What does that even mean? Are Oliver's parents going to want them to keep the baby? Are they going to expect her to live here forever, with Oliver? Or will she want Felicity to never leave the house until the baby has already been born and given away to another family? She doesn't know the woman that well – or at all, really – but Moira Queen seems like the type of person concerned with her family's reputation, especially when the media pays so much attention to them. "That's - that's really nice of you Mrs. Queen, but I actually already have a doctor. My next appointment is on Wednesday. I really appre -"

"- Wait," Oliver interrupts with furrowed brows, "You have a doctor's appointment? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I… I didn't think you'd care," Felicity explains with a sympathetic shrug.

"Well, I do. I – I can take you, if that's okay." He looks to her, holding his breath while waiting for her answer.

She pauses, taken aback by the genuine hope shining through his eyes. "Um," she nods, "Yeah, if you want to."

"I would like to accompany you both, if that's alright. I want to make sure you're in the best care and of course, we'll take care of the medical bills."

At the offer, Felicity is quick to shake her head in refusal, "That's nice of you, but I'm not looking for any handouts. I'm – I'm not after your money or anything."

"Oh, I know. Oliver was very adamant about how good of a person you are. We simply want the best care for this baby. We insist on covering any costs associated."

She tilts her chin towards Oliver, sending a small smile at the fact that he trusts her so much. "Th – thank you. That's really kind."

"Now," Moira claps her hands together lightly, a smile on her face, "Enough of this talk. Tell us about yourself, Felicity."

* * *

Checking the time on his phone, Oliver sighs in relief that he finally has a free period. He's only been at school for two hours and is already exhausted, tired from the emotional weekend. After having brunch with his parents, which a part of him still can't believe actually happened without anyone screaming, he drove Felicity to her house since she only had enough clothes for one day. Luckily, her parents weren't home, but what she did find broke her heart even more. In her room, set atop her bed, was nearly all of her clothes and important belongings packed up in suitcases. Obviously, it was done by her mother considering how neatly folded and organized it all was. So now she is officially living in the guest room closest to Oliver's room at the Queen Mansion.

Staring into his locker, Oliver is trying to remember what late assignments he needs to catch up on when someone walks up behind him.

"Is it true?"

He peers over his shoulder, turning fully at the sight of his girlfriend. His brows draw together in confusion at her angry demeanor, tears in her eyes. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Is. It. True?" Laurel demands again, voice harsher and louder this time causing other students in the hallway to notice their conversation.

"Is what true?"

Laurel pushes against his chest, "Did you cheat on me and get some girl _pregnant?!"_

His stomach drops at her words, knowing that this is it. There's no way out of this. As soon as Felicity moved into his house, he knew that they wouldn't be able to keep this secret much longer, especially considering her clothes are starting to be too small. But he thought he had more time, time to talk to Laurel in private and explain everything to her. Turns out, he's out of time. "Where did you hear that?"

She scoffs, "At your birthday party - y'know, the one that I helped Tommy set up? The one you ended up ditching for some unknown reason? Yeah, Joanna heard you on the phone talking to some girl, asking about _the baby._ And then you drove to school this morning with some chubby blonde _whore_ in your car!"

"Hey, Felicity is not a whore." The words slip out of his mouth before he even has a chance to think them over and Oliver freezes, realizing his mistake. He cringes, sighing out a breath and holding out his hands slightly in front of him, "Laurel, I can -"

"- So it's true?" she chokes out. "Is that girl pregnant with your baby?"

Standing in front of her right now, looking into her sad eyes, Oliver knows he can't lie. Not anymore. So he sucks in a deep breath and exhales slowly, "Yes."

The pain is instantaneous. He didn't even see Laurel lift her hand before it slaps across his cheek, stinging against his skin and whipping his head to the side. Oliver slowly turns back to her, opening his mouth and stretching out his jaw. For an extremely skinny girl, Laurel has a surprising amount of upper body strength. A tear trails down her cheek and she lifts her hand again, pointing a finger in front of his face. "We are done, _Oliver._ I never want to speak to you again. _Ever."_

Sighing, Oliver's heart sinks as he watches her storm down the hallway before disappearing around the corner. He expected himself to be relieved when she finally found out and inevitably broke up with him, happy even, but he just feels sad. All he's been wanting for the past few months was an excuse for her to dump him and never take him back. And now that he finally got what he wanted, he feels unbelievably guilty.

Turning back to his locker, Oliver puts what he needs in his backpack and slams the door shut with more force than necessary. He slings the bag over his shoulder and starts to make his way to study hall when he notices numerous students' eyes on him, having heard and seen the entirety of his fight with Laurel. Oliver narrows his eyes and all but growls, "Show's over." His anger scares everyone back into their own conversations and he storms off, needing some time to himself.

That time, however, gets interrupted. After checking in with the study hall teacher, he went to the library to try and actually get some work done - shocking - but found it hard to concentrate amongst the curious glances and whispers. Obviously, the rumors about him and Felicity have already spread through the entire school, even though they aren't just rumors. He tries to focus and ignore them - he's gotten really good at it over the years - and only lifts his chin when someone slides into the chair across from him.

Tommy stares at his best friend, brows hiked up expectantly, "Dude, please tell me these rumors aren't true."

Sighing, Oliver puts down his pencil and rubs a hand over his eyes, dragging it down his face, "What have you heard?"

"Did you knock a girl up, Ollie? C'mon, man."

"Look, I… You remember that huge party you had a few months ago when Max jumped off the bannister and sprained his wrist?"

Tommy chuckles and nods, "Yeah, that was awesome."

"I know," he laughs along with him until Tommy abruptly stops and shake his head.

"Get back to the point."

Sighing again, Oliver scratches the back of his neck, "Remember how I sorta disappeared for part of the night? I hooked up with someone and… Yeah, she's pregnant." Silence envelops the best friends as they're locked in a staring match, and he can see the hurt in Tommy's eyes. "Look, I wanted to -"

"- Tell me? Yeah, but you didn't. I asked you what was wrong so many times and you lied to my face. Best friends don't lie to each other."

"Tommy -"

"And you cheated on Laurel? _Really?_ What the hell, man?" he glares, shaking his head in disappointment.

Ever since they were young and they met Laurel, their duo becoming a trio, Oliver could always sense that Tommy had feelings for her. But he got there first, and even though he treated her terribly, she always chose him. "I know it was wrong, trust me. Laurel just dumped me, for real this time."

"Good."

He narrows his eyes, "I messed up, I know that."

"Messed up?" Tommy scoffs, "Ollie, you got a girl _pregnant._ How did that even happen? Last I saw, you were with the guys."

He sighs, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "Laurel and I got in a fight and I just needed to clear my head. I went up to your room and Felicity was sitting there, crying. It just happened, I -"

"- Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tommy interrupts with a grimace, waving a hand in front of him to cut off his best friend. "Please tell me you didn't have sex in my bed." At the guilty look on Oliver's face, he groans, "Ugh, you had sex in my bed. Really?"

"I'm pretty sure you're dwelling on the wrong part of the story, Tommy."

With one last frown, he sighs, "So this girl - Felicity, yeah? Is she keeping it? Are you gonna be a dad?"

Oliver thinks the question over carefully, not knowing how to answer. He honestly doesn't know what is going to happen; all he knows is that Felicity has said multiple times that she doesn't want to be a mother, that she isn't ready for it. And she seems to like the idea of adoption ever since he mentioned it, which he now regrets. A weird feeling that he can't explain bubbles up in his chest every time he thinks about another family raising their baby, but he knows that if that's what Felicity thinks is best, he'll go along with it. Letting out a deep breath, he finally answers, "Honestly? I don't know."

* * *

Ducking her chin, Felicity tries to ignore the whispers and stares as she moves through the hallway towards her next class. She doesn't know how, but somehow the news about her pregnancy has spread like wildfire throughout school, even the knowledge that Oliver is the father given that people saw him driving her to school this morning. She knew that the secrecy was too good to be true; sooner or later, this was bound to happen, especially since she has been living with the Queens for two days.

Living in a mansion with the family of the father of your baby is interesting, to say the least. Felicity isn't used to having things done for her; yeah, her mom was home most of the time to take care of her, but she has always been independent and self-sufficient. Now, though, she has people making her breakfast and doing her laundry and asking her if she needs anything at all hours of the day. She appreciates it, she really does, and Raisa is probably the nicest woman she has ever met. It just makes her feel weird to have other people waiting on her hand and foot.

Lifting a hand, Felicity tucks a fallen strand of hair behind her ear and tightens her ponytail, doing her best to think about anything other than the whispers of her name. As she's walking, someone bumps hard against her shoulder causing her to spin and lose her footing, falling right on her butt. Luckily, her backpack breaks most of the fall so only a dull ache jolts through her wrists and tailbone. "What the hell?" she growls, looking up behind her glasses. Her face falls at the girls standing in front of her and she holds her breath.

"Whoops," Helena shrugs a shoulder, two of her minions trying to hold in their laughs where they stand at either side of her. Her blue eyes look her up and down, lingering on her stomach that is just barely noticeable. "Y'know, you should probably wear a sign or something. Baby on board?" She arches a brow, lips turning up into a smirk, "Oversized load?"

"Hey!" Sara comes out of nowhere, standing between Felicity and Helena with her fists clenched at her sides. "Why don't you back off, Helena? Otherwise Daddy's gonna have to buy you another nose job, only this one will be because of my fist."

Moving a step back, Helena tries to hide how intimidated she actually is with a scoff, "You do realize she slept with your sister's boyfriend, right?"

"You _do_ realize that I can kick your skinny little ass, right?" Sara arches a brow, taking a threatening step forward.

The brunette gulps before putting on a fake smirk, "Whatever." Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Helena spins on her heels and struts off down the hallway, her two friends following without a second thought.

Making sure to keep an eye out until the girls round the corner, Sara rolls her eyes and faces Felicity, who is still on the floor. She extends a hand and pulls her up, "Are you okay?"

Finding her footing, Felicity smooths down her shirt and nods before fixing her glasses from slipping down her nose, "Yeah. Thanks."

"Hey, no one messes with my friends."

"Am I?" she mutters, afraid of the answer. "Am I still your friend?"

A small smile tugs up the corners of Sara's mouth, "Of course you are, Felicity."

Felicity tries not to get her hopes up too high, "Still? I mean, Helena was right. Sara, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about me and Oliver."

"I already knew."

Her brows draw together in confusion, "What? You did? How?"

A soft chuckle escapes past her lips, "You blush like a tomato whenever you see him in the hallway. Plus, I've known Ollie for most of my life - I know that he isn't exactly boyfriend of the year. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"And you're – you're not mad at me?"

Sara loops her arm with Felicity's at the elbow, walking along with her to her class to make sure that no one else tries to mess with her. "No, I'm not mad at you. I think I know you well enough to know that Ollie told you some bullshit about being broken up with Laurel. She's my sister, I don't blame you for not telling me. But just because she's my sister doesn't mean you're not my friend."

Unable to hold back tears, thanks to these damn hormones, Felicity chokes out a sob and yanks the other blonde into a tight hug. "I don't deserve a friend like you, Sara."

She pulls away and chuckles, lifting her hands and using her thumbs to swipe under Felicity's eyes, "You're still cute." Looping their arms once again, she jerks her head to the side, "C'mon, let's get you to class. I hope people come at you, I'm dying to kick some more ass today." Both girls fall into a fit of laughs, ignoring everyone else in the halls as they make their way to class.


	11. Chapter 11

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

"Felicity, are you ready?" Thea asks as she walks up to where Felicity stands at her locker, packing up the books she'll need to do her homework for the night. "Ollie is waiting at his car."

The blonde sighs and closes the locker door, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Yeah, let's go."

Both girls start down the hallway, Felicity ducking her chin to try and ignore the curious gazes on her. It's the end of the day and people still haven't stopped talking about her, especially considering Sara almost beat the lipstick off Helena's stupid, smirking face. Thea notices how unusually quiet the older girl is being, seeing how uncomfortable she is. Being a Queen herself, she isn't unfamiliar with rumors and gossip, but she knows Felicity is used to going through school relatively unnoticed. "Ignore them," Thea speaks up, bumping a shoulder against hers as they walk through the door and start heading towards the parking lot.

"It's kinda hard when all they do is laugh at me," she sighs, adjusting her glasses.

Chuckling, Thea rolls her eyes, "They'll get bored eventually, trust me. And if they don't, well… I'm not afraid of a fight."

Felicity groans, "Oh God, please don't get in a fight for me. Like your mom needs another reason to hate me, please don't get suspended."

"My mom doesn't hate you," Thea tries to assure, "She can just be… a bit cold sometimes. But she has a good heart."

"I know," she offers a small smile, "It really means a lot that your parents are letting me stay at your house."

"We can have slumber parties, and shopping trips, and we can turn one of the guest rooms into a nursery and decorate it together!"

Felicity smiles weakly at the last part, knowing that that may never actually happen if they give the baby away, which she has been thinking about a lot. The more she thinks about it, the more she imagines holding her baby, rocking them to sleep. But then she thinks about her future, or the future she might be giving up. And what if she sucks at it? At being a mother? Then she will have given up on all of her dreams for nothing. She doesn't really pay attention as Thea goes on about decorations and color schemes, only coming back to herself when they reach Oliver's car to find him sitting in the driver's seat, waiting for them. She slides into the passenger side while Thea hops in the back, sighing as Oliver starts the car. "So… I guess everyone knows."

"Yep," he answers curtly, backing out of the parking space.

Leaning forward onto the middle console, Thea furrows her brows at her older brother, "Are you okay?"

"Laurel dumped me," Oliver responds simply, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

She huffs, "Well, I think we saw that one coming."

Now it's his turn to scoff, "She slapped me."

Both girls cringe, Thea placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Ouch."

After a short drive home, most of it filled with the sound of Thea's rambling voice, Oliver goes straight up to his room. He tries calling Laurel a few times with no luck, the calls being sent straight to voicemail. With a frustrated groan, he gives up and decides to send a text instead, saying how sorry he is and asking if they can talk. He ignores the dozens of messages from friends asking if the rumors are true, cringing at the occasional text from some desperate girl asking if they can be his 'baby mama' too.

Hearing the doorbell ring from downstairs, Oliver tosses his phone on the bed and leaves his room, heading for the stairs when Felicity zooms past him. "I'll get it!" she calls as she moves down the stairs, hand tightly wrapped around the railing so she doesn't fall. Before she reaches the door, she pauses and turns to him, "It's okay if I have a friend over, right? I mean, I guess I kinda live here now but if…"

"It's fine, Felicity," he assures with a light chuckle, stopping by the table in the middle of the foyer. She sends a grateful smile before opening the door and his face falls when her friend walks inside. "Sara," he clears his throat, "Hey."

Sara narrows her eyes at him and takes a step forward, "Hi Ollie." In one swift movement, she places both hands to his shoulders and bends him forward slightly before bringing her knee up, sending it as hard as she can into his groin. Oliver's face twists in pain and he groans, curling onto his side when she pushes him to the ground. "That was for cheating on my sister."

Gasping, Felicity brings both hands up to cover her mouth and crouches down by his side, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he grits out, breathing deeply as he rolls onto his back and clutches where she hit him. "I deserved that."

"Do you… want some ice?"

Sara scoffs and rolls her eyes, reaching forward and pulling Felicity to her feet, "He'll live. C'mon, I wanna see what bedroom Mama Queen is holding you prisoner in."

The two girls head towards the stairs, leaving Oliver lying on the floor in the middle of the room. Sending a quick glance back at him before continuing towards her bedroom, Felicity shrugs, "It's not so bad here. It's better than sleeping in the park."

"Don't - don't worry about me," Oliver calls out after them, "I'm fine!"

* * *

"Felicity?"

Lifting her chin, Felicity swallows and stands from her seat in the waiting room of the doctor's office. "That's – that's me," she tells the nurse, a different one than at her first appointment. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Moira stand from her chair and start walking towards the nurse, and she begins to follow before pausing. Peering over her shoulder, her brows draw together as she takes in Oliver still sitting, leg bouncing with nervous energy. "Aren't you coming?"

He looks to her, mouth falling open slightly in surprise as he shifts forward in his chair, "I thought - I wasn't sure if you'd want me to."

A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth and she nods her head towards where Moira and the nurse are waiting, "C'mon." Oliver returns a grateful smile of his own before standing and following her, both heading back towards the actual doctor's office. The nurse proceeds to take Felicity's height and weight before leading the three of them to the same exam room as the last time. She does the last couple tests, asking a few questions before finishing and moving towards the door. "Your vitals and weight look normal. Doctor Samuels should be in soon."

"Thank you," Felicity smiles as she leaves, settling back against the table in preparation.

Oliver opens his mouth to ask her about what'll exactly happen during the appointment but before he gets the chance, the door opens and Doctor Samuels steps into the room. "That was quick," he mutters to himself.

Doctor Samuels smiles brightly at the younger girl, "Felicity, it's good to see you again." Her eyes flit towards Oliver settled in the chair closest to the exam table, "Am I right to assume this is the father?"

"Yeah, um," Felicity nods, "This is Oliver."

She offers him a smile, "Nice to finally meet you. And you must be Mrs. Smoak."

"Mrs. Queen, actually," Moira corrects, reaching out and shaking the other woman's hand, "I'm Oliver's mother."

"Ah, my apologies Mrs. Queen. So, let's take a look at things." Doctor Samuels begins washing her hands, peering over her shoulder so that she can still talk to Felicity. "Considering you're here, and you're officially into your second trimester, I assume you're going to be having the baby?"

"Yes, she will. We will be looking into adoption services, though," Moira answers before Felicity has the chance to.

Both Felicity and Oliver turn their heads towards his mom, surprised by her words. He then tilts his chin towards Felicity with an arched brow, waiting for her to say something because they definitely hadn't made that decision together. Sure, they talked about maybe considering adoption but he didn't know that she made a definitive decision already, a decision that he did not like. Breathing in slowly, Felicity swallows and sends an unsure smile towards Doctor Samuels, "Yeah. We just want what's best for the baby."

Oliver's stomach drops, but he stays silent.

"Well, I can have reception give you some information we offer about the process of adoption on your way out, if that's what you choose to do." She rolls over the ultrasound machine, "Let's take a look at your baby, okay?" Waiting until Felicity pulls her top up to her ribcage, Doctor Samuels tugs the waistband of her leggings down to expose the small swell of her stomach. The warm gel is squeezed onto her stomach before the wand connects with her skin, moving around and displaying the image on the screen.

The black and white picture still takes Felicity's breath away and she tries to hide her smile, blinking away the sudden moisture in her eyes. She clears the emotion from her throat, "Does it look okay?"

"It kinda looks like a peanut," Oliver observes, voice a bit breathless as he stares at the screen with a small smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

A light laugh bubbles past Felicity's lips at the same words Sara said at the last appointment before Doctor Samuels answers her earlier question, "Everything looks to be about right. The baby's length and measurements appear normal. I'm just going to freeze this image right here and we'll see if we can listen to the heartbeat, I know we couldn't find it last time."

The older woman pushes some buttons and freezes the screen, switching out tools. Frowning, Oliver draws his brows together, "You couldn't find the heartbeat? Is that normal?"

"Completely. It was still too early to detect, but if this little peanut decides to play nice today, I should have no problem picking it up." Doctor Samuels moves the Doppler and suddenly, a fast thumping sound fills the room. "And there it is," she grins.

Felicity lifts a hand to swipe at her cheeks, unable to hold back the tears at the sound of her baby's heartbeat. After a few seconds, Oliver's voice cuts through the sound, "Is it - is it supposed to be that fast?" The obvious worry is detectable in his tone and the concerned frown on his face. But there is an underlying sparkle in his blue eyes that gives away exactly what he's feeling: complete and absolute love, which surprises him to say the least. He knows that he should be scared or panicked or even indifferent like many teenage boys would be in his position, but he isn't. All he feels is the swelling of his heart at the sight of that baby. That is his baby, his flesh and blood. His responsibility. All he wants to do is hold that little peanut, protect it from anything and everything for the rest of its life.

"Yes, it's completely healthy," Doctor Samuels nods.

"Wow," Felicity gasps out almost silently and she tilts her head towards Oliver when she feels the warm weight of his hand against her forearm. They exchange a smile before the moment is broken by the sound of his mother's voice.

Moira stands, "Will that be all?"

Taken aback slightly by her reaction to essentially seeing her grandchild for the first time, Doctor Samuels quickly collects herself and nods. Putting the Doppler back in the holder on the side of the machine, she grabs a few pieces of paper towel and hands them to Felicity to wipe the gel off her stomach. "Everything seems perfectly normal for the start of the second trimester. You can schedule your next appointment at reception on your way out. They'll also give you information about what to expect throughout the second trimester and some information about the adoption process. It was lovely meeting you both, and I look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks, Felicity."

They say their thanks and wait for Felicity to straighten her clothes before heading out to the waiting room. She schedules her next appointment in about a month and accepts the papers the receptionist offers, turning to follow Oliver to his car since he drove them straight from school, meeting Moira here. As they head in the opposite direction of Moira's waiting car towards where he parked, the older woman's voice stops them.

"Felicity, darling, I was hoping we could go out to a late lunch together and talk. I'd love to get to know you better. Have you eaten already?" Moira asks, surprising both teens.

Exchanging a glance with Oliver, she shrugs, "I had lunch at school but… Technically, I'm eating for two, so I'm always hungry."

"Excellent," she grins, looking to her son, "Oliver, we'll meet you back home. Come, Felicity." Reaching out, she guides the younger girl, who quickly hands over the papers she's holding to Oliver, towards the waiting town car. The driver - Edward, Felicity thinks his name is - steps around the car to open the door for them, Moira sliding in first.

Nerves bubble up inside Felicity at the thought of an entire meal alone with the Queen matriarch and she shoots a look towards Oliver, hoping he might jump in and insist on joining them or something. Whenever Felicity has talked to Moira, it's never been alone; Oliver or Thea are always there. Against her luck, all he does is send an encouraging nod before heading off to his own car, knowing that it would be no use to argue with his mother.

The drive to whatever overly expensive restaurant they're probably headed towards goes by in an awkward silence, and Felicity thanks whatever powers exist that she hasn't babbled herself stupid already. No, that'll just come during lunch, no doubt. A few seconds after the car rolls to a stop, the door opens and Felicity steps out first, honestly taken aback by where they are.

She arches a disbelieving brow at Moira, "Big Belly Burger?"

"Yes, I imagined that you'd enjoy it. When I was pregnant with Oliver and in my second trimester, my morning sickness had subsided and the cravings set in," she recalls, a gentle smile on her face and a light chuckle bubbling past her lips as she leads the way inside.

As soon as they settle in a booth, a waitress appears to take their order, both only needing a brief glance at the menu before knowing what they want. After the waitress leaves to put their order in, silence surrounds them again and Felicity shifts uncomfortably and internally groans, feeling the ramble that's about to come out. "I didn't think you'd ever be caught dead in a place like this." Her eyes widen, "Not - not that you're stuck up or anything! I just meant that you probably go to places that serve lobster as an appetizer. Not that that's bad, I'm sure it's great. And not that Big Belly is like, a low-class place, because it's really not. It's delicious and - and clean -"

"- I know what you meant," Moira interrupts with a small smile, though it seems more forced than out of pure amusement, and she snaps her lips shut, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Grabbing a napkin from the holder at the end of the table, Moira busies herself with unfolding it and placing it in her lap, "I'm sure you're wondering why I invited you to lunch, Felicity."

"I am, actually. Now that we're here though, I just want to thank you again. It means so much that you and Mister Queen are letting me stay in your home. I know that this whole situation is a lot to handle and you're probably upset with Oliver, and you probably don't like me very much. And that's fine; you don't have to like me. But I need you to know, Mrs. Queen, that I didn't do this on purpose. I'm not trying to trap Oliver into a relationship, or looking to get at your family's money, truthfully."

Moira narrows her eyes ever so slightly, taking in the younger girl carefully before nodding, "I believe you."

She exhales a sigh of relief because she needs them to know that she's not that kind of person. "Thank you. And again, I know I've said it a million times but I cannot thank you enough for letting me move in temporarily." Adjusting her glasses, she lets out a soft laugh, "Thea is the sweetest. She was going on and on about what color the nursery should be and how we can decorate it to be gender-neutral -"

"- Felicity." Her strict voice cuts off her babble immediately and she pauses before continuing, "I've done my homework on you. Accelerated classes, perfect grades, top of your class. You could technically graduate at the end of the semester if you were so inclined. You're set to have a full scholarship at any number of top universities and internships at Fortune 500 corporations. You are an extremely intelligent young girl, Felicity. And Oliver, though not as academically inclined as some, has a bright future ahead of him with our family's company. Surely you realize that having and raising a child would significantly damage both of your futures."

"Well, I mean… It would be challenging but -"

"- No, it would be impossible. Going to college would no longer be an option for you and that is such a shame. Felicity, like I said earlier, you are very intelligent. And who knows, maybe you could even find yourself with an internship at Queen Consolidated someday."

Felicity does a slight double take from the table, eyes widening, "Wait, really? That is like, the Holy Grail of internships." She pauses at the expression on Moira's face, hands gesturing as she explains, "Y'know, like from Indiana Jones."

Staying silent for a few seconds, Moira ignores the reference and continues, "I would hate for you to miss out on so many opportunities because of one mistake. Trust me, we will only be using the most prestigious adoption services, and we will thoroughly interview each couple." She reaches across the table and places her hand atop Felicity's, squeezing it gently, "I promise, we will find the best family possible for my grandchild that can offer a better life than two teenagers."

Lost for words, Felicity just nods in agreement as she tries to digest all of this new information. Having a baby would impact both their futures, but people have done it before, right? Though, with what she's always had planned for her future, how would she ever find the time to raise a child on top of everything else? Even without continuing to pursue an education, she would make a terrible mother; she wouldn't know what to do with a baby. And an internship at Queen Consolidated… That is the opportunity of a lifetime. There are so many families out there that can provide a loving environment and happy life for her baby, and she would still be able to have everything she's ever wanted. It seems like an easy choice; she just wishes it didn't hurt so much to think about.


	12. Chapter 12

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Highlighting the last sentence of the page, Felicity turns to the next one before pausing, taking a second to grab a baby carrot and pop it into her mouth. As she chews, she tries to imagine something different, like a potato chip or a chocolate chip cookie. Although Raisa is the sweetest woman she's ever met, she insists on only packing healthy and nutritional food into Felicity's lunches, even though all she craves is junk food. Refocusing, her eyes start to skim the top of the next page when someone clears their throat and she lifts her chin, ponytail bouncing from the abrupt movement.

"Are these seats taken?" Caitlin asks, a hopeful look on her face. Iris stands beside her with a matching expression, both holding lunch trays in front of them.

Felicity swallows and after a few seconds, shakes her head, "No, go ahead." Another few seconds go by in awkward silence after the girls settle in and she can't take it anymore, opening her mouth to speak. "I'm sor- "

" - We're so sorry," Caitlin and Iris say together at the same time as their friend and they stare at each other before chuckling. Caitlin shakes her head, "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I overreacted."

"No, you didn't," Iris assures. "We should've been more supportive, but instead we just ganged up on you. We're sorry. You know we support you, Lis."

"I know," she smiles gently because she does know. Everyone says things they don't mean sometimes, but when it comes down to it, Iris and Caitlin are always there for her whenever it counts. "I forgive you, by the way."

Both exhale in relief, the weight that's been on them since their fight dissipating into thin air. After the tension disappears from the air, Felicity fills them in on everything they've missed: her parents finding out about the baby, them kicking her out, moving in with Oliver's family. She did, however, leave out the part about Oliver coming to her doctor's appointment and hearing the heartbeat together for the first time. She doesn't want them to get the wrong idea and think that she likes him. Although technically, they'd be getting the _right_ idea considering she _does_ like him. But they don't need to know that.

The next ten minutes of lunch go by in comfortable conversation, the three girls catching each other up on anything and everything, laughing and smiling together. Iris is in the middle of telling a story about her younger brother, Wally, when a new presence joins their group.

Sara plops down in the seat beside Felicity with a groan, "I just spent half of my lunch period doing corrections on a quiz. I swear I almost stabbed myself in the eye with my pencil."

Giggling, Felicity rolls her eyes before noticing the questioning looks on her other two friends' faces. Her eyes widen behind her glasses, "Oh! Sara, these are my best friends, Iris and Caitlin. Iris and Caitlin, this is Sara. She's the one I was telling you about that helped me at first with," she pauses to consider her words before deciding, hands gesturing to the general space around them, "Everything."

"I've heard a lot about you guys," Sara says with a grin before reaching forward and snatching one of Caitlin's fries, popping it into her mouth.

The girls stare at the blonde in awe for a few moments before laughing, Caitlin nodding, "Likewise." All four of them fall into easy conversation for the rest of the lunch period, making plans to have a sleepover that weekend before parting ways.

* * *

Felicity finishes typing out a text to Thea, assuring her that the younger girl could go home with her friend and that she didn't need a ride; she's fine with waiting for Oliver to finish his baseball practice, which have recently started up again. It is a nice day out so she can easily do homework on the surprisingly comfortable bleachers. She climbs a few steps before settling with her bag beside her and looking up to see Oliver looking her way, offering a smile. She is glad to be this far away as a blush colors her cheeks and she lifts her hand to offer a quick wave, ducking her chin and taking out her homework before any of the other guys on the team can notice the interaction. She gets lost in her textbook as Coach Wilson blows his whistle and their practice starts.

The whistle blowing forces Oliver to tear his eyes away from Felicity sitting on the bleachers, eyes glued to the book on her lap. A weird feeling flutters in the pit of his stomach at the thought that she is here to watch his practice, even though he knows that she's only here to wait for him since he's her ride back to the mansion. It's a different feeling than the one he'd get when Laurel would watch; not so much a sense of arrogance or a need to show off, but a weird nervousness and desire to make her proud. Which is ridiculous; they aren't even dating, they aren't anything, really.

He shakes the feeling away as best he can before lining up next to Tommy and the rest of the team to start some drills. After running a few sets of suicides, Coach Wilson decides to give them a quick water break before moving into batting and catching. They meander towards the dugouts where all of their bags sit, each grabbing their respective water bottles.

"Who's the blonde?" Carter Bowen asks with a nod of his head towards the bleachers.

Max chuckles and smirks, "Ollie's new girlfriend. Y'know, the pregnant chick."

Closing his water bottle, his shoulders tense up and he sends a glare at his supposed friend, "Her name is Felicity. And we're not dating."

"No?" Max asks with an arched brow, "So she's fair game?"

"C'mon, man," Tommy warns, seeing how worked up his best friend is getting, even Carter and the other guys shifting nervously as they watch the exchange.

Max shrugs, "What? I'm just asking. I mean, she's actually kinda hot, especially when she'll be skinny again." A smirk tugs up the corner of his mouth, "And clearly we all know she'll put out."

At the insult, Oliver sees red. A dark chuckle escapes past his lips as he shakes his head and takes a step forward before pulling his arm back and sending his fist forward before anyone can stop him. Times stands still for a second before the rest of the team jumps into action, Tommy pushing back hard against his chest. He hears his best friend's muffled voice, not fully taking in what he is saying as all he can feel is the blood pumping through his veins, his adrenaline begging to be let out through his clenched fists against Max Fuller's smug face.

Though, the smug look is no longer on Max's face, instead replaced by a look of anger and a bloody nose as a few of the other guys tend to him while also trying to hold him back.

"Queen!" Coach Wilson's gruff voice, australian accent thickened with his anger, finally breaking through the fog around him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Oliver blinks, his anger dissipating just a fraction as he looks away from Max and towards the older man. "I -" he hesitates, not really knowing how to explain himself.

He orders, "You're done. Go home."

"What?" Oliver croaks out, fearing the worst.

"I'll have to decide your further place on this team. For now, just get out of my sight," Coach Wilson grumbles. "Bowen, take Fuller to the nurse. He's bleeding all over my field. Everyone else, those bats aren't gonna swing themselves." When no one moves, all of them just staring at him in silence, he raises his voice, "Now!"

Tommy sends his best friend a withering look before following Coach Wilson to continue on with practice, Oliver huffing and grabbing his stuff. Slinging the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder, he glares at Max as Carter leads him towards one of the doors to the school. He starts making his way out of the fenced in area of the baseball field and when he lifts his head, his face softens as sees her.

Standing at the edge of the fence, Felicity stares at Oliver in concern, having witnessed the entire exchange. She takes a step forward when he reaches her, following him towards where he parked his car when he doesn't stop walking. "What just happened? Why did you just punch one of your friends?"

"That asshole is _not_ my friend," he growls, tossing his bag in the backseat and opening the door.

She pauses, "Okay, but why did you punch him? Did Coach Wilson kick you off the team?"

"Just drop it, Felicity," his snaps before sighing, softening at her wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Narrowing her eyes, she takes him in for a few seconds before nodding and sliding into the passenger seat, "Okay."

* * *

Luckily when they get back to the mansion, Thea is still at her friend's house and his parents are gone, Raisa probably off tending to the garden. Shutting the freezer door, Felicity turns around and steps towards where Oliver sits on a stool at the island, draping an ice pack across his bruised knuckles while avoiding his gaze.

After a few seconds, she breaks the silence, eyes still cast down and voice quiet, "Did he say something about Laurel?"

"What?" his brows draw together at the question, "Why would you think that?"

She sighs, trying not to let her true feelings show. Deep down, she is jealous at the thought of him defending the other girl's honor, which she knows is stupid. First of all, he shouldn't be starting fights to begin with and second of all, she already knows that he still loves Laurel. How could he not? "The only reason you would start a fight with your teammate is if he said something to piss you off, so he either said something about Thea or Laurel. They're who you care about most; everyone knows that."

"He said something about _you."_ At her wide-eyed look, he continues, his voice soft and full of regret, "I'm so sorry, Felicity. All of this is my fault, and the things that people are saying about you… It's not fair."

Felicity shakes her head, setting the ice pack on the counter and replacing it with her hand, gently laying it across his. "Stop apologizing, okay? None of this is your fault - okay, the cheating-on-Laurel part was your fault but… Oliver, you didn't make me do anything that I didn't want to do. You didn't force me, you didn't take advantage of me."

"Felicity -"

"- No, let me finish," she interrupts. At the nod of his head, she takes in a deep breath, "My dad has always expected me to be as smart and successful as him. My mom and I have never really connected on a certain level; we don't have that much in common. My friends, as great as they are, don't always understand me. Boys don't like me, for a lot of reasons, but mostly _because_ I'm smarter than them. And the boys who do actually like me only like me because I'm smarter than them." She adjusts her glasses, clearing her throat. "What happened between us happened because I wanted it to, because I wanted to feel in control of something and make a decision for _myself._ Not my parents, not my friends. Me. So I did.

The things that people are saying about me… It sucks, but it's not your fault. It's my life and it was my choice, and I don't regret it. Maybe, I don't know," she lets out a watery chuckle, "Maybe this baby is meant to do something great in their life. So please, just… Just stop blaming yourself for everything, okay?"

Oliver stares at her, wondering how someone can be so… _remarkable._

"Okay," he responds simply, a small smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Felicity breaks eye contact with him a picks up the ice from the counter, "We should get this back on your hand before it starts to swell again." He nods and she bites her bottom lip, tilting her chin and holding the ice pack on top of his hand.


	13. Chapter 13

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth, Felicity zones out as her eyes focus on the machine to her left displaying the black and white image of her baby. She becomes mesmerized by the shape, the outline of its cute little arms and legs. Her eyes drift towards her stomach when she sees an arm move, wondering when she'll actually be able to feel it. A part of her, though, doesn't want to feel it; she doesn't want to establish any more of a connection because she knows it'll only make it harder when she has to give the baby up to another family.

"Felicity?" Doctor Samuels' voice pulls her from her thoughts.

"What? Sorry, I missed that." Felicity turns to the older woman with wide, apologetic eyes, ignoring Oliver's quiet chuckling from her other side.

A small, understanding smile tugs up the corners of Doctor Samuels' mouth before she arches a brow towards the ultrasound machine, "Would you like to know the sex?"

"Um," she stutters and tilts her chin towards Oliver. He shrugs, letting her know that it's up to her while being of absolutely no help. Allowing her mind to drift again, she's brought back to her earlier thoughts, thoughts she has been trying to avoid as much as possible over the past few weeks. She realizes that she doesn't want to know because knowing makes it real; it allows her to dream. It allows her to picture a nursery, with walls green as the jungle, animals peeking out from behind trees and a leaf mobile spinning while the baby sleeps. Or a white crib surrounded by blue skies, with fluffy clouds and flying unicorns. "No," she answers before clearing her throat, blinking back any tears that had gathered in her eyes. It's easier this way; it has to be.

After a second, Doctor Samuels nods and moves to start putting away the equipment, "Alright then, that's it for today. As usual, you can make your next appointment on your way out."

"Thanks," Oliver offers as he stands, waiting for her to clean off her increasingly round stomach.

She fixes her clothes –- side note, she is _so_ thankful that stores have finally started to make cute maternity clothes - and slides to her feet, watching as Oliver holds the door open before following her out. After making another appointment with the secretary that fits both of their schedules, what with him finally being allowed back onto the baseball team after his two-week suspension, they make their way towards where he parked his car.

"So," he starts, sensing something is off with her. While he's not known for being the most observant guy around, he likes to think he knows her well enough to know that she's never quiet for this long unless something is wrong. Her babbling is one of the cutest things about her, the way her eyes get wide with embarrassment and her cheeks flush. It never ceases to bring a smile to his face and right now he knows that all he wants is to see _her_ smile. "Do you want to go get food or something? We can go to Big Belly Burger."

While the idea of a Double Belly Buster and chocolate shake always sounds good, she remembers their plans for the night and sighs, "We can't. Your mom set up an interview with a potential family, remember?"

Oliver's heart drops at the reminder. He's put this off for as long as possible, making up excuse after excuse until his mother stopped buying them and set up an interview with a couple she read about through some prestigious adoption agency. Just the thought makes his stomach churn, but it's what Felicity wants. It's what's best.

* * *

Thumbing to the next page of the file Moira handed her, Felicity forces a smile onto her face and tilts her chin, lifting a hand to adjust her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "So, you're a doctor?"

"Pediatrician, yes," Laura Hoffman answers with a wide smile, clearly trying to hide her nerves where she sits next to her husband. She grips his hand in hers, "And Adam is a professor at SCU."

"Literature," Adam clarifies, shifting where he sits on the couch in the Queen family's parlor.

Felicity nods slowly, about to open her mouth with another question before Oliver interrupts.

"Seems like you're never home. Doesn't really sound like a good thing for a kid," he criticizes with a flat tone to his voice, settling back against the cushions.

She pauses and sends a glare his way. He's been acting this way for the entire interview so far, sounding bored and uninterested. Earlier today, he seemed fine, so she has no idea what could've changed to put him in such a bad mood.

Laura clears her throat, sharing a look with her husband, "Well, I work at a family practice with three other doctors, so my hours aren't too bad. And of course, we would both be taking some time off at the beginning to help with the baby." The couple spent the first part of the interview talking a bit about themselves and what led them here. They'd spent almost a year trying to have a baby after being married for five, only to find out that Laura couldn't have children. After considering some different options, they decided that adoption is the route they wanted to go, which brought them here.

"Of course," Moira nods, ignoring her son and moving into some questions about their financial stability.

Quietly, Felicity turns her head towards Oliver with furrowed brows, "Are you okay?"

He stares blankly before shrugging, "I'm fine."

Forced to accept his answer, she turns her attention back to the three adults in the room just as Moira moves on to another question, "So, what kind of life are you hoping to give this child? Obviously, we want to know that they are getting the best life possible."

"We just want to raise a healthy and happy child," Adam says with the ghost of a smile.

Surprising everyone in the room, Oliver starts chuckling. He pulls his lips together to stifle his laughter when they all stare at him in confusion, "Sorry, but that is such bullshit."

"Oliver," Moira scolds.

"What?" he shrugs. "It is. Look," he shifts, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, "Clearly everyone wants a healthy kid, but what no one will say is that they also want a cute kid. Which you'll get - I mean, look at me. And Felicity, she's hot or else she wouldn't be pregnant by me in the first place."

Her cheeks immediately flush and she stares at him with wide eyes behind her glasses. _What the hell is wrong with him?_

But he remains undeterred by the looks he's getting and continues with his rant, "The kid might be stupid, too. Felicity's smart but it's half me, and I'm a straight-D student. But hey, I _am_ popular. And I'm also kind of a man-whore. Can that be inherited? I think so. You'll probably end up with a grandkid in seventeen years, then." He chuckles, "I'm going to a party tonight, I could probably get you a 2-for-1 deal."

"Oliver!" Felicity balks at him, part of her thinking that this _cannot_ be real. He can't be saying what he's saying right now.

The Hoffmans shift uncomfortably and Moira stands, "I apologize for my son. I don't know what has gotten into him."

"I'm a little drunk," he cuts in from his spot still relaxing on the couch, not a care in the world.

His mother shakes her head, "I am so sorry. Let me walk you out and maybe we can reschedule this for another time."

Felicity watches from her seat, anger bubbling up inside as she waits for Moira and the Hoffmans to be out of the room. As soon as she's sure that they're out of earshot, she stands and whirls on Oliver, her ponytail swinging through the air, "What the hell was that?! What is wrong with you?!"

"What?" he shrugs as he stands, still acting as casual as ever, "I was just being honest."

"No, you were being an _asshole._ Are – are you trying to sabotage this or something?"

A look she can't identify crosses his face before he schools his features, "They should know what they're getting. Clearly, they can't handle having a kid."

She huffs out a laugh, "And we can?" Shaking her head, she lifts a hand to rub at her eyes beneath her glasses. "I don't know what you're trying to do or why, but if you say that stuff at the other interviews, nobody is gonna want our kid!"

"Well maybe I do!" he blurts out, surprising them both.

Felicity stares with wide eyes before breathing out, "What?"

"Nothing," he is quick to amend, shaking his head. "Just forget it. I'm going to Tommy's," Oliver informs her before turning around without waiting for a response, grabbing his car keys and avoiding his mother on the way out.

* * *

Tugging his phone out of his pocket, Oliver thumbs through one of his social media profiles, not paying enough attention to even know which one. He just needs to appear distracted, which is all part of his plan. _A stupid plan,_ he mentally scolds himself, but he doesn't know what else to do. Since the interview with the Hoffmans, they'd had a few others, all of which went about the same as the first. He knew he was being an ass, his mother had told him so, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was that Felicity was mad at him, because he knows she is. They haven't spoken more than five words in the past week and he finds himself missing their conversations, missing the bubbly sound of her laugh when he makes a stupid joke and the passion in her voice when she tries to help him with his homework. But like he told her, these couples should know what they're getting into, which is what he's convinced himself is the reason for his behavior.

"Oliver," his mother says with a stern voice. Moira arches a brow at him, "Do you have somewhere else you need to be?"

He locks his phone and slides it back into his pocket, "Yeah, actually."

"I thought baseball practice is on Thursdays?" Felicity asks quietly, directing a small, apologetic smile towards the couple sitting opposite them, John and Lyla Diggle.

He shrugs, putting on the perfect air of nonchalance, "It is. Tommy's throwing a party and needs me to get a keg."

Felicity's expression hardens and shifts on the couch to face forward, clearing her throat, "He's kidding. Anyway, it says in your file that you've been married twice? To each other?" She can't keep the natural curiosity out of her voice at the odd circumstances describing their relationship, wanting an explanation. She hates mysteries, no matter what kind.

"Yeah," Lyla exchanges a smile with her husband, both chuckling. "We were married after meeting in Afghanistan but when we got home, we realized that we weren't handling our feelings about our time overseas in the best way. So, we decided it was best to get divorced."

"A few years later, we reconnected through work circumstances and since we'd both dealt with our issues, we realized we still loved each other and wanted to give it another try. We've been married for almost six years now," John finishes the story in such perfect harmony, almost like they'd rehearsed it. Which they might have, considering how many times people probably ask about their relationship.

Just as Felicity is about to say how cute she finds the story, Oliver cuts in, "So what happens if you get divorced again? Then the kid grows up in a broken home?"

"Being divorced isn't a broken home, Oliver. A lot of people are divorced and raise perfectly normal children," she glares at him.

"It's okay," John interrupts. He narrows his eyes at the younger man, analyzing him, and Oliver shifts uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze. "It's a perfectly valid question. And I can't say that we'll never get divorced; things happen that can't be planned for, circumstances change. But what I can say is that we love each other and we want a family, and no matter what, our child will always come first."

Lyla nods in agreement, squeezing her husband's hand where it rests between them.

The rest of the interview goes very much the same, with Oliver questioning everything they say and making smart-ass comments, but luckily, the Diggles don't seem as bothered by him as the other three couples did.

When Moira ends the interview, everyone stands. "It was very nice to meet you both," the Queen matriarch smiles, "Thank you so much for meeting with us."

"Thank you for considering us, it means the world," Lyla lets out a nervous breath, a genuine smile gracing her face.

The house phone ringing pulls Moira's attention away and she is quick to apologize, "I'm sorry, I have to take this. I've been expecting a call from one of our foundations."

"I'll walk you out," Felicity says and takes a step before John raises a hand to stop her.

"Actually," he turns towards Oliver, who hadn't even bothered to stand from his seat on the couch, "I was hoping Oliver could walk us out. I have a few questions for him, if you don't mind."

Her eyes widen in worry and she chews on her bottom lip, "Are you sure? Cause he's been sick all week, I think it's finally gone to his head. A fever, probably. We really should call a doctor."

Oliver rolls his eyes and rises to his feet, "I'm fine. The door's this way." He leads them through the mansion towards the front door, brows furrowing slightly as he watches John tell his wife to wait in the car, leaving them alone in the foyer. "You said you had a question or something?"

"Or something," John mutters to himself, crossing his arms over his chest, the large muscles testing the seams of his shirt. "I actually have some advice. This act you're putting on… It sucks."

"Excuse me?" he arches a brow. "I'm not -"

"Don't try and lie to me. I'm trained in interrogation skills you wouldn't believe, and you're full of shit," the older man says bluntly. "I get what you're trying to do and I'm telling you, it's only going to backfire. Just tell Felicity what you want."

After a few seconds, Oliver swallows thickly, "And what's that?"

A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, "That you want to keep your child, Oliver. You don't have to feel ashamed about it, I understand. But if you keep acting this way, you're just going to make things worse for yourself and then twenty years from now, you're gonna look back and wish you'd said something to stop this adoption." John unfolds his arms and shrugs, the expression on his face adopting a level of smugness, "But hey, I barely know you."

And with that, Oliver watches, stunned into silence, as John opens the front door and leaves.

* * *

Taking in a steadying breath, Oliver wraps his knuckles against the door before opening it at the faint sound of a 'come in'. He peeks inside, immediately losing half the courage he'd built up at the look on Felicity's face when she sees him. Even though he can tell how angry she is, he needs to do this. "Can we talk?"

"I don't know, can we?" she crosses her arms over her chest and cocks a hip, "Don't you have a party to go get drunk at?"

He presses his lips together tightly and steps fully into the room, closing the door behind him and lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "No, I… I want to talk."

After a few seconds, she sighs, "Fine. Talk."

"I'm sorry for the way that I've been acting. You were right; I've been trying to sabotage the interviews, and I'm sorry. It wasn't fair."

Her expression softens at his honesty, her arms falling at her sides. Felicity is reminded of the last real conversation they had and steps forward, closing some of the distance between them. Her chin tilts down a little and her voice has lost most of its edge. "Did you mean it?" At the confusion on his face, she clarifies, "When you said you wanted to keep the baby. Did you mean it?"

Oliver breathes in slowly before nodding, "Yeah. Yeah, I meant it. I've been thinking about it and – and I didn't know how to tell you because I know this adoption is what you want but -"

"- It isn't," she interrupts and his eyes widen.

"What?"

"It's not," she shakes her head, "It's not what I want. The more I've thought about it…" A hand drifts to rest on her stomach, thumb stroking over it gently and a soft smile tugging at her lips as she gazes down, "I can't imagine another family raising her. Rocking her to sleep, teaching her to ride a bike, holding her hand on the first day of school. I just -"

Now it is Oliver's turn to interrupt with a step forward, "Her? Did you say _her?"_

Head flying up, Felicity looks at him with wide eyes, "I'm sorry! I – I called the doctor two days ago. I had to know. Please don't be mad."

"Mad?" he exhales a watery laugh. "We're having a daughter. And you want to keep her?"

Her own eyes glazing over, her smile grows, "Yes. I want to keep our daughter, Oliver. I know it'll be hard, but I don't care. I love her and I want to keep her."

He can't help but laugh as a smile overtakes his entire face and he closes the distance between them, pulling her into a tight hug, one hand wrapping around her waist and the other threading through her hair. He closes his eyes, breathing in her sweet scent as she relaxes in his embrace, happiness and something else he can't identify thrumming through his veins. Slowly, he starts to pull away just enough so he can see her face, both hands framing her cheeks. Oliver sweeps his thumbs under her eyes where a few tears began to trail and he becomes lost in her eyes. They're so blue, even more than usual, and an overwhelming want - no, _need_ \- to kiss her overcomes him, making his eyes drift to her impossibly pink lips of their accord.

Before he can do anything, Felicity gasps slightly and glances down. His brows furrow in concern, "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she chuckles, "I think she's happy. She just moved."

The smile finds its way back on his face as she meets his eyes, matching his expression, and all he feels in this moment is… complete.


	14. Chapter 14

**Follow me on tumblr - my username is** ** _emily-betts_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Felicity stares down at the onesie in her hands, thumbs smoothing over the soft, pale blue fabric. A small smile tugs at the corners of her lips as she reads the curly letters saying _'the sky is the limit',_ the ending tapering off into a flock of flying birds. It's cute, she has to admit, and picturing her daughter's little legs kicking in the outfit sends her thoughts back to the other night when they'd finally told Oliver's parents about wanting to keep their baby.

 _Trying to take in a deep breath, Felicity pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and gnawed on it. Her stomach fluttered, and this time it wasn't from her daughter moving or kicking, but from the nerves bubbling up inside her. She didn't even notice the presence moving to stand beside her until a warm hand encased her own and squeezed. Exhaling in relief, she tilted her head to the side until her eyes met Oliver's reassuring ones._

 _"Are you ready?" he asked with a single arched brow._

 _"Yes." When he took a step forward to lead her into the living room, she stopped him with a tug on his hand, "N-no. Nope." He exhaled a laugh. "How are you so calm?" she breathed out. "It's taking everything in me not to start babbling about how good that shirt looks on you and how the color brings out your eyes." Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed with heat, "Crap."_

 _Oliver chuckled softly at her words before he shifted to stand in front of her and squeezed her hand again, "I'm not worried because no matter what they say, I know that this is the right decision."_

 _A small smile graced her face, "Yeah? How are you so sure?"_

 _"Because we're in this together, Felicity. I'm not going anywhere."_

 _She stared up at him in amazement, not truly being able to believe the promises he was making to her, because how could he be telling the truth? How could he, Oliver fracking Queen, actually want to be there for her in a way that no one ever really has before? But looking into his mesmerizing eyes, she couldn't help but believe every word he was saying to her, and that scared her to death._

To say that Oliver's parents reacted negatively would be the understatement of the century. His mother, much more than his father, had freaked out, albeit in a completely composed manner that only Moira Queen could uphold in such a situation. It took a lot of convincing from both teens, and surprisingly, Robert, to get her to calm down enough to even consider the idea of the two of them keeping their baby. In the end, it was the point Robert had made about the baby being a Queen, being _family,_ that convinced her. It would be better in the long run for the baby to be raised in their family and with their help than the possibility of someone in the future trying to pursue the Queen fortune. That idea being the deciding factor didn't sit well with Felicity, but it was better than nothing – it meant she got to keep her baby, and that was what really mattered.

Thea's voice pulls her from the memories and she lay down the onesie back on the table before turning her head. The younger girl is walking towards her with a wide smile on her face and some sort of stuffed animal in her hands, "Lis! Look at how cute this is! We are totally getting this for the baby."

She grins at the nickname she's begun to get used to and it isn't until the girl is in front of her that Felicity can make out the animal as a light purple stuffed monkey, which is extremely adorable. A laugh bubbles past her lips as she takes it in her own hands, fingers running through the short fur, "This is pretty cute."

"Well, we're buying it. I want the first stuffed animal the baby gets to be from her favorite Auntie Thea," she coos.

"Technically speaking, you're her only Auntie Thea."

Thea rolls her eyes, "Her favorite Aunt, then."

The blonde tilts her head, "Again, technically you're her only Aunt since I don't have any siblings."

"Her favorite Aunt even out of all her unofficial Aunts. There, does that work?"

Felicity chuckles, "Sure. But you're gonna have to break it to Iris, Caitlin, and Sara, because they've all already claimed the status of 'Favorite Aunt'."

"No," Thea gives her a stern look, pointing a finger in front of her face, "I will fight them for it if I have to."

She arches a brow, "Sara knows karate."

Opening her mouth to respond, Thea pauses to think it over for a moment before cocking a hip, placing her hand on it a flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I can be feisty."

Shaking her head with a chuckle, Felicity goes back to shopping, both girls pointing things out to each other and chatting for about twenty more minutes before heading to the checkout counter. Thea insists on paying since she ended up picking out most of what they're getting, which turns out to be a few outfits, blankets, and the stuffed monkey. Since this is only the first time going shopping for the baby, Felicity doesn't want to buy too much and none of the big items, like furniture and decorations for the eventual nursery.

Taking two out of the three bags, Thea leads the way, chatting about how they should head to a maternity store next to get her some cuter clothes, causing Felicity to laugh before nearly colliding into the girl's back when she suddenly stops walking.

"Laurel!" she squeals in excitement before jogging a few feet across the mall and throwing her arms around a very surprised Laurel Lance. After a few seconds of taking in the situation, she hugs her back, a smile appearing on her face.

Felicity stands stock still, eyes widened in both shock and fear at seeing the girl whose boyfriend she essentially stole. Though, it's not like she is actually dating Oliver, so did she technically steal him? But she did have sex with him while he was dating Laurel, and he is no longer dating Laurel, so does that mean she _did_ steal him? She is having his baby, so… She shakes her head, physically needed to clear her mind of the confusion before hearing her name fall from Thea's lips, realizing that she's been noticed.

She sucks in a sharp breath at the hard glares Laurel and her friends – Joanna and… she can't think of the other girl's name – send her way. It takes a few seconds of babbling for Thea to realize the sudden tension, her words slowly tapering to silence. Clearing the nervousness from her throat, she manages an uncomfortable smile, "Hi, Laurel."

"You, uh," Thea tries to ease the awkwardness, "You remember Felicity, right?"

Laurel scoffs lightly before forcing a smile, "How could I forget?"

"Right, well, like I was saying, we were just starting to buy some stuff for my niece. I found the _cutest_ stuffed monkey ever," Thea gushes, immediately forgetting the strain between the two girls and reveling in being able to talk to Laurel again, having once thought of her as a friend, nee, a sister. "It's purple, and it is _totally_ gonna go with the jungle theme that I'm planning for the nursery."

Felicity interrupts with a weird twitch of her head, "Thea, I don't think she really wants to talk about this."

"No, no. Please! Tell me all about yours and Oliver's baby. I'd love to hear every _single_ detail," Laurel sasses. "Y'know what? Start from the beginning! Why don't you tell me all about the night you slept with my boyfriend!"

"Okay," she tugs on Thea's arm, "We should go."

Laurel nods, folding her arms across her chest, "Yeah. You should."

"I – I'm sorry," Thea stutters with wide eyes. "I forgot about… I just miss talking to you."

The other brunette's eyes soften and her stance relaxes, arms falling to her sides. "I know. I miss you too, Thea, I do. It's just," her eyes flick towards Felicity before falling back to the youngest girl, "It's just hard."

"Yeah," Thea nods sadly. "Yeah, I get it. I'll… I guess I'll see you later." She gives a small wave before turning, letting Felicity lead her away.

Seeing the forlorn expression on her new friend's face, though, Felicity stops and takes a deep breath. She spins back around and starts speaking before her brain catches up to her mouth and she changes her mind. "I'm sorry."

Tilting her head over her shoulder from where she was facing her friends, Laurel furrows her brows in confusion.

Felicity takes her silence as a chance to continue. "Look, I know you hate me. And this might make you hate me more or less – it'll definitely make you hate Oliver more – but I didn't know. I didn't know that you were dating him. I mean, I knew – everyone _knew._ What – what I mean is that, he told me that you were broken up. Otherwise, I never would've," she pauses, shifting uncomfortably, unconsciously smoothing a hand over her noticeably protruding stomach, "I never would've done what I did. What we did. I thought you were broken up, but clearly you weren't, and I am so sorry for how this whole situation has hurt you. And this probably doesn't mean anything to you, but I know that Oliver is sorry too. He really cares about you and he's an idiot for doing what he did, and he knows how wrong it was. And I'm sorry, but honestly? I'm glad he did it, because now I have my baby and I love her more than anything. And I know that sucks for you and – and this is probably making everything worse and…"

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to stop her babble and center herself before starting again, "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for hurting you, but I didn't know. And whether or not that makes you hate me less, it's – it's whatever. Just… Please don't hate Thea for being friends with me. Or Sara, for that matter. They both love you. And… And I guess that's it." Felicity exhales a long breath of relief, feeling a heavy weight lift off her chest that she didn't realize was there, her guilt easing at having at least tried to apologize. Whether or not Laurel accepts it isn't her problem, she just feels better knowing she explained herself. "Okay," she sighs out and turns to Thea, hooking their arms together at the elbows, "Now we can go."

* * *

"So, are you going to Carter's on Friday? Most of the team is gonna be there," Tommy asks, popping a potato chip into his mouth, "Don't worry, Max won't be there."

Oliver rolls his eyes and sets down his water bottle, shaking his head, "Nah, I can't. I promised Felicity that I'd let her tutor me. She wants to help me get my grades up."

After a few moments of staring at his best friend with narrowed eyes, Tommy turns to face him more fully, "Okay, what's the deal with you two?"

Dragging a hand over his face, he contemplates what to do next. A part of him wants to tell his friend the truth about keeping the baby, while the other part of him is afraid of what his reaction will be. Though, he remembers the last time he kept a secret from Tommy – the fact that Felicity was pregnant to begin with – and how hurt he'd been, even though he tried to hide it. Deciding on what to do, Oliver sighs, "We decided to keep the baby and raise her together."

He arches his brows in surprise, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he responds with a firm voice, ready to defend himself, "And don't even –"

"That's great."

"—say," Oliver pauses, "Wait. What?"

A small smile tugs at the corners of Tommy's mouth, "I said that's great, because I think it is. I mean, I was freaking out a bit at first when I found out but… You've changed a lot over the past couple weeks, and I think this could be a good thing for you."

"Really?" he asks in slight disbelief.

He chuckles, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah. I like the new Ollie. I mean, I liked the old Ollie, too, but… I don't know, I'm just proud of my best friend."

A grin slowly forms on his face and Tommy rolls his eyes, "You love me, don't ya, buddy?"

"Shut up. Now I'm not happy for you anymore."

A hearty laugh bubbles past his lips, his head falling back slightly.

"Hey, isn't that Felicity?" he points out the blonde sitting alone at a table across the cafeteria, head buried in a book.

Tilting his head, Oliver furrows his brows in confusion when his eyes land on her tiny form, hunched over in a way that cannot be comfortable, "Yeah. She usually eats with her friends, though." He thinks it over for a few seconds before standing, gathering up what is left of his lunch, "I'm gonna go sit with her." Abandoning his friends, he starts heading over to her table when he feels someone walking beside him. Looking over, he arches a brow at his best friend.

Tommy shrugs a shoulder, "What? I figure I should finally meet her. Officially." He shakes his head in amusement as they shuffle up to her table and sit down, startling her out of her reading.

Felicity's ponytail swings from side to side when her head shoots up, eyes wide behind her glasses, before she immediately recognizes them and relaxes. She sends them a wide smile, setting down the carrot she was munching on, "Hi."

"Hey," Oliver matches her expression, eyes meeting hers of their own accord, almost like it's a natural reflex to search out the pools of sky blue.

Glancing between the two, Tommy interjects, feeling as though they completely forgot he is even there, "Hi."

Breaking eye contact, Felicity greets him, "Hi."

"Uh," Oliver clears his throat, "Felicity, this is my best friend, Tom –"

"—Tommy Merlyn. I know who you are. I mean, obviously. I've been to your house," she babbles."

"Ah, yes. You had sex with Oliver in my bed."

Her eyes widen, cheeks flushing pink at his words, while Oliver whips his head towards Tommy and smacks a hand against his chest, "Dude!"

"It's true," he shrugs. "But what's done is done. Clearly." He tilts his chin down towards her stomach before chuckling at his own joke, shaking his head.

Oliver glares at him, "Ignore him." His face softens as he glances back towards Felicity, wanting to change the subject to alleviate some of her obvious embarrassment. "Where's Caitlin and Iris? They're usually sitting with you."

"Uh, they had to study for a test so they're in the library. Is that why you came over here?"

"I didn't want you to sit alone," he smiles, watching as her own spreads to match his and he becomes lost again. Tommy watches them stare at each other and rolls his eyes, a small smile of his own tugging at his lips at the sight of his best friend so happy.

* * *

Lifting his hand, Oliver knocks lightly against the wood before he can talk himself out of it, waiting patiently as he can hear footsteps on the other side of the door. He smiles when he sees Felicity standing in front of him in cute little plaid shorts and fluffy socks. "Hey," he breathes out. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" It's late, just a few minutes past midnight, but she mentioned earlier during their tutoring session that the baby has been keeping her awake lately by moving nonstop. So, while he wants her to be able to sleep, he was hoping that she was still awake.

"No! No, I was up." She opens the door fully to let him inside, closing it behind him before leading him further into her room. A hand falls to caress her stomach and she chuckles, "Peanut won't stop moving because apparently, she hates me and doesn't want me to sleep at normal hours of the day."

"Peanut?" he arches a brow, hands stuffed into the pockets of his sweatpants.

"Yeah," Felicity shrugs a shoulder, tucking a curl behind her ear a bit sheepishly, "I didn't want to keep calling her 'the baby' and I remember that you said at the first ultrasound that she looked like a peanut and I –"

"—I like it," he interrupts. "I'm sorry that Peanut isn't letting you sleep."

She grins, "It's okay. Um… So, what's up?"

"I, uh… I couldn't sleep. I don't know, I guess…" Oliver stammers a bit, scratching the back of his neck before huffing a laugh, "I guess I don't really have a reason for coming over here."

"Ah," she tries to suppress a smile. Lifting a hand towards the television, she takes a step back towards her bed, "Well, I was watching some old movie if you wanna watch with me."

He nods, unable to stop the wide smile stretching across his face, "Yeah." In a matter of minutes, they are settled next to each on top of her bed, shoulders just brushing against each other. Felicity only makes it halfway through the old, black and white movie, before she falls asleep curled up against his side with her head resting on his shoulder, hands resting on her stomach and her breaths evened out peacefully.


	15. Chapter 15

**AHHH! I am so so so sorry for the long wait. I do have some news though and that is that this story is coming close to an end. I'm thinking there will be about 3 or 4 chapters left so yay! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Follow me on tumblr - my username is _suttons_** ** _-brady_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Ever since that night in Felicity's room, things between her and Oliver had shifted. It was subtle, but noticeable; to her, at least. She felt at ease whenever she was around him, no longer overcome with nerves when he sent a smile her way or gave a gentle touch. Which is something he's been doing more of; a hand on her back here, a graze of her fingers there. It was… refreshing. She has never felt so comfortable around someone before, especially not a boy, and it was in a way that was different than with her friends. She loves them, of course, but something about the way Oliver makes her feel is different. It's safe, and secure. And _happy._

That night had also been the best night sleep she'd gotten in a very long time. Her working theory is that Peanut wants both parents with her all the time, especially at night. So watching a movie together has sort of become a little ritual of theirs; not every night, but often enough. They get snacks, find whatever is on or pick a movie on Netflix, and watch together, though often times they spend more time talking than actually watching. And no matter where they start off, whether it's her bedroom, his bedroom, or the living room, Felicity always wakes up in her bed.

Tonight is no different. Felicity shifts, readjusting the blanket over her lap and trying to get her legs comfortable with her ever-growing belly. Luckily, her height and general small stature has made it so that she isn't actually that big and only really carries in her stomach, though sometimes she feels like a giant whale. She even looks smaller than she thinks a normal woman who is five months pregnant would look, but Doctor Samuels assures her at every appointment that she and the baby are perfectly healthy. Which she is so thankful for; ever since they decided to keep the baby and even started buying things for her, she hasn't been able to stop imagining what she'll look like. Will she have Oliver's strong bone structure? Felicity's eyes? Her nose? His dirty blonde hair or her lighter tone? Every combination she can think of is beautiful, and she can't wait to finally see her.

Forcing herself out of her drifting thoughts, Felicity tries to focus back on the movie they are watching – _Interstellar._ She can't help but speak up, though, "Y'know, when I was a little girl, I wanted to be an astronaut."

Oliver turns his head at the sound of her voice, shifting a leg to face her a bit more and arching a brow, "Really?"

"Yeah," she chuckles, the sounds from the movie falling into the background, "I was devastated when I found out that I couldn't because I needed glasses."

A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, imagining an angry, tiny Felicity stomping around with her arms crossed. "I'm sure you didn't let that stop you, though."

She huffs, "Oh, no. I still wanted it, so I tried to find a compromise. I did a bunch of research and found this space camp. Made an entire presentation and everything to convince my parents to let me go."

"Did you?"

Felicity's smile dims just a fraction, a far-off look appearing in her eyes. "No. My dad didn't want to waste money on something that wouldn't turn into a career, and my mom… My mom said that she couldn't bear the thought of sending me away for eight weeks. Who knew she'd be the one ignoring me for months now," she lets out a watery chuckle, shaking her head as she stares at her legs.

Shuffling closer, Oliver reaches out a hand and easily wraps it around one of hers. "Have you talked to her at all?"

"Nope. Not since she called that day to make sure I was safe, the day after they kicked me out. She knows I'm staying with the father but not that it's you, or where I am. She doesn't care."

"That's not true. You said it yourself, your dad controls her. She loves you, otherwise she wouldn't have called to make sure you were safe after that night," he tries to reassure, even if he knows it's not totally convincing. It's the best he can do, given the circumstances.

"Yeah, well," she shrugs half-heartedly, fingers playing with a loose thread of the blanket on her lap.

"Hey," Oliver says lightly, tugging on her hand until she lifts her chin to meet his eyes, her own slightly watery. "I know this is really hard, but you know that you have me, right? Always."

A small smile tugs at the corners of Felicity's mouth as she lets out a long breath, heart beating faster in her chest. She squeezes his hand as the other moves to rest on her stomach, "Yeah, I know. And I think having you and Peanut is enough."

His smile widens to match hers, "I hope so."

She narrows her eyes slightly, examining his face, eyes shining with mirth, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Always say the right thing. Whenever I freak out, or panic, or feel upset about anything, you know exactly what to say to make me feel better. How do you do it?"

Oliver considers her words for a moment, having to think about it. Honestly, he doesn't know. Most of the time, he has no idea what the hell he's doing. And with Felicity, there's no exception; he has no idea what the hell he's doing most of the time. When he looks at her, though, he doesn't have to think about anything. It's easy with her, which is something he isn't used to. He huffs out a slow breath, "Honestly? You're the one who calms me down, Felicity."

Felicity tries to conceal her smile and shifts on the couch, facing the television. He does the same, enjoying the comfortable silence they fall into and not releasing her hand from his hold.

* * *

Swiping the brush over her nail, Felicity stares intently from behind her glasses, trying not to get the light purple polish on her skin. She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, blocking out the girls' conversation. Sara, Iris, and Caitlin all sit around the latter's bedroom painting their nails different colors, talking about what colleges they are thinking about applying to. With it being the second semester of their junior year and having just taken their ACT and SAT tests, it's definitely something they need to start thinking about. Graduating, leaving home, college… All of that is terrifying to think about for Felicity. Add to that the fact that she is only a few months away from _giving birth,_ and it would be really easy for her to have a panic attack at any given moment.

Felicity used to know exactly what she wanted in life. She was going to qualify for early graduation, move to Massachusetts to attend MIT, double major in cyber security and computer science, intern at a prestigious business, maybe work there for a few years, and eventually start her own tech company. Now, though, how much of that would she actually be able to have? Graduating high school is a given – people in her situation do it all the time – but what about college? With the help of Oliver and his family, she might be able to do it in four years, if not a little bit longer, but she definitely can't go to MIT. There's no way she can move across the country with a baby, especially considering Oliver is here. Come to think of it, she isn't even sure what he'll be doing after he graduates this year. Because of his family, he can have his choice of any school he wants.

Guilt bubbles in her stomach, though, because she likes to think she knows him pretty well at this point. She knows that he would never leave her and Peanut to go to a school out of state, so he'll probably end up going to Starling City University. Even though he doesn't care about school that much, he is actually smart; she's learned that through tutoring him to help get his grades up. And now, he's going to give up the opportunity to go to an Ivy League school for her. _Because_ _of_ her.

"Felicity? You okay?" Sara asks with furrowed brows at the girl's prolonged silence.

She lifts her chin, forcing a light smile on her lips, "Yeah. I'm good, sorry. Just concentrating. What were you saying?"

"I was just saying how Colombia has a really good pre-med program," Caitlin starts, "And I've always wanted to live in New York."

Iris nods, "Me too. But I think I might want to go to Central City University. It's not as far, and they have a really good psychology program. Plus, I can minor in journalism and write for their student newspaper. It's really cool."

"Ugh, you guys are so lucky," Sara groans, switching to paint her other hand, "I have to stay in-state because it's _way_ cheaper, so I'll probably just end up going to SCU like Laurel."

Felicity's head shoots up, "Laurel's going to SCU?"

"Yeah, pre-law. She, like, wants to save the world one criminal at a time or something."

"Oh. That's," she pauses and nods, looking down and focusing back on her nails, "That's good for her." All she can think about, though, is Oliver going to school with her, which makes even more guilt swell inside her than before. He either leaves Starling City to go to school, leaving her and Peanut, or he goes to SCU. With Laurel. That thought really shouldn't bother her as much as it does, though, because she has no right to dictate who Oliver is with. He's not her boyfriend, even if she wants him to be. And she has finally admitted to herself that she wants him to be. She wants them to be a family: her, Oliver, and their little Peanut.

"I guess," Sara shrugs. "I don't really mind, either. We've actually been getting along recently."

Those words pull Felicity from her own mind and she smiles, happy at the thought that she might have something to do with that. Things were rocky, to say the least, between the two sisters due to Sara's friendship with her. "That's awesome."

"Where are you thinking of going, Lis?" Iris cuts in, capping the nail polish and blowing on her fingernails to dry them quicker. "Still MIT?"

Her eyes drop, avoiding her friends' gazes and focusing on her nails, "Um, I don't know. Maybe. I guess it depends on what Oliver is doing."

"Why?"

Pausing, she arches a brow at Caitlin, "What do you mean 'why'? I can't just leave the state with our baby. If he's going to SCU, then so will I."

"I mean, I get that but… Felicity, MIT has always been your dream. You can't just give that up."

"I don't really have a choice. In case you haven't noticed," Felicity points a finger at her obvious baby bump, "I have different priorities now. I can't just think about myself."

"Neither can Oliver," Iris retorts.

 _That_ irritates her; he barely even knows about any of her once-upon-a-time plans. "Oliver didn't do anything wrong. His future is just as important as mine, and Peanut's future is ultimately what matters most."

"Peanut?" Sara chuckles, "I came up with that!"

The other girls continue their conversation as if the blonde hadn't even spoken, with Iris nodding. "Like Cait said, we get that. But –"

"—There's no _but._ I don't want to talk about this, you guys. It's my decision," she interrupts with a huff.

All of the girls fall silent, exchanging glances with each other. "You're right," Caitlin finally says. "It is your decision. We just don't want you to throw away the future you've been dreaming of since you were a kid just because of Oliver or the baby. You have to do what's best for her, yeah, but you also have to do what's best for yourself Felicity."

Sighing, Felicity nods reluctantly, just wanting to end this entire conversation, before going back to finishing her nails and trying not to let her thoughts consume her.

* * *

After spending a few more hours at Caitlin's house, Felicity decided that she was too exhausted from the day's conversations and didn't want to sleepover like originally planned. She just wanted to go home, take a nice long bath, and fall asleep under her large comforter. It's a funny thing, to think about when Oliver's house had become home. Though, maybe, it isn't so much the house as it is the person.

Hanging up her coat, Felicity tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and moves towards the staircase, shuffling out of her shoes as she goes and carrying them in one hand. She slowly makes her way upstairs, focusing her thoughts on which scent of bubble bath she is going to use instead of what the girls had said earlier; she really doesn't want to think about their words. Just as she neared the door to her room, a voice calling her name caused her to peer over her shoulder.

"Felicity."

An easy smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she turns around fully, "Hi."

"Hey," Oliver returns a grin of his own, moving to stand with only a few feet between them, the closeness having become a common thing within the last few weeks. "I'm glad you're home." Suddenly, his smile falters a bit and she notices how he rubs his thumb and forefingers together, a nervous tick of his. "I, uh, I have a surprise for you."

Her mouth falls open in a slight 'o' and her brows raise, "A surprise?"

"Yeah," he lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, "I was gonna show you tomorrow, but… I can show you now?"

"Sure," Felicity nods, a bit confused. Her eyes flick down towards his offered hand and a smile finds its way to her face again before she grasps his hand tightly. He squeezes it once, twice, before leading her down the hall to a guest room not far from their own bedrooms. They stop before it, and she watches as Oliver takes a steadying breath to calm his nerves. After a few seconds of waiting, he reaches forward to grab the doorknob and twist it, pushing the door open and casting her a hopeful glance.

Taking a step forward, tears immediately flood Felicity's eyes as she takes in the room decorated as a nursery.

The room is painted a creamy white, with one of the walls being a shade of blue-grey to represent the night sky. That wall is littered with stars, all of the constellations being connected and labeled with their names. A beautiful white, wooden crib is pushed against the wall and above it hangs a mobile with planets in different shades of blue and grey. The wall to the right has rows of shelves built into it, dozens of books already there just waiting to be read to their little girl. Beside the bookshelves is a dresser with a small globe of earth on top and she runs her fingers over the golden letters, reading 'fly me to the moon, let me land among the stars'. Her bare feet walk over the plush white rug in the middle of the room as she inspects the toy box, already filled with stuffed animals and little toys. Eyes ghosting over the rest of the room, she takes in the space-themed art, the dark blue curtains, the rocking chair in the corner with a globe-shaped ottoman, before standing in front of the crib. Reaching down, Felicity lifts the purple stuffed monkey Thea bought, running her fingers through the fur as a tear trails down her cheek.

"You, uh," Oliver clears his throat from where he stands behind her, nervously shuffling in place, "You said that you always wanted to be an astronaut, and you never got to go to space camp. I figured this could be your chance." He laughs with uncertainty, his face falling slightly at her prolonged silence. "I know that I probably shouldn't have done this without you, and it's okay if you don't like it. I can –"

"—I love it," Felicity chokes out, spinning around to face him.

He raises a brow, "You do?"

"This," she gestures to the room around them, "This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me." Setting down the stuffed monkey, she crosses the room towards him with a hand on her stomach. "I love it so much, and so will Peanut." A wide smile stretches across her face when she stops just in front of him, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "It's perfect."

Oliver breathes out in relief and smiles back, raising a hand to swipe a tear away from her cheek, "You and Peanut deserve it."

Rising onto her tiptoes, Felicity wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his neck, his own arms circling her waist. He breathes in the intoxicating scent of her hair and pulls her body impossibly close. She sighs, never having felt as content in her life as she does in this moment, standing with him in their daughter's nursery.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi everyone! I'm alive! Hopefully you guys enjoy the chapter and it makes up for how awful I've been with updating. Feel free to head right to the chapter but if you'd like to know why I've been MIA, here's a little explanation:**

 **This summer I suffered from several medical issues that resulted in being hospitalized 3 times. Then September came rolling around and I started my fifth semester of university which made me pretty busy. I then started suffering from a lack of inspiration and the reappearance of some medical issues that resulted in having to take an incomplete on one of my classes, which was all very stressful. Then while on winter break, I was on vacation in Jamaica, dealing with some family drama surrounding the holidays (of course), and a recurring lack of inspiration to write. My semester started up again which is accompanied by stress and on top of all of that, I'm stressing hard about having to start studying for the LSAT this summer in order to get into law school. Within the last couple weeks, I'd gotten on a writing kick only to sprain my wrist and make it extremely hard to type. But I was determined to keep my promise of updating before the end of March so I pushed through the pain, and here we are! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Follow me on tumblr - my username is _suttons_** ** _-brady_**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and any original characters that may be added in later. All rights over characters of the TV show Arrow belong to CW Television and DC Comics.**

* * *

Flipping the page, Oliver continues to copy from his textbook into his notes, eyes narrowed in focus. He shifts in his seat at the kitchen island, trying to get more comfortable after nearly an hour of not moving. Thinking the house was empty, he barely even registers the noise of someone shuffling into the room until a voice speaks up.

"Oliver?" his father slows as he enters the kitchen. "This is a surprise."

The younger man's hand stops its movements and he raises his head, matching his expression with arched eyebrows of his own, "Likewise."

Robert nods gently as he moves closer, stopping just across the countertop. "Yes, well, I had an early day for the first time in a while and thought I would take advantage of it. Where are the girls?"

"Shopping," he cringes, not even wanting to imagine how much Felicity is suffering on a shopping trip with both Thea and his mother. Feeling his father's stare, he averts his eyes and shifts uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "What?"

Shaking his head, as if to shake himself out of a daze, Robert exhales and his expression relaxes. "Nothing, I'm just surprised to see you here on a Friday night. And studying, no less."

Oliver gestures to his chemistry textbook and notes, "Yeah, well, I have a test on Monday. I'm using some of the studying techniques Felicity taught me. I need to get an A to bring up my average to a B, and she thinks I can do it." He can't help but puff out his chest a bit, a proud smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at the reminder of how much confidence she has in him. Her smile had been so wide at their last tutoring session when he'd gotten all of the practice problems right.

"Wow, son," Robert can't hold back his own smile, "That's incredible. I'm very proud of you." His son grins and just as he's about to go back to his studying, he can't help but stop him. "Y'know, I can't help but notice a change in you lately. You've been more present, both at home and at school, in ways your mother and I have been trying to encourage for years. I think that Felicity has a lot to do with that."

A light blush comes to his cheeks and Oliver looks down slightly to hide it. "Well, she's," he clears his throat, "She's a great person."

Humming in agreement, he looks over his son with critical eyes before coming to a realization. "I know that you are young, and I know that this whole situation started off in a less-than-ideal way. But I think… I think this has been good for you. I'm proud of the way you've stepped up, Oliver." A knowing grin appears on his face, "I also notice the way you interact with Felicity. You should tell her how you feel."

"I don't –"

"—Oliver," he interrupts with an arched brow, watching as his son's shoulders sag in defeat.

"It doesn't matter," Oliver shakes his head. "She doesn't feel that way about me. And even if she did, I'm not… I'm not good enough for her. Felicity deserves better."

"Better than what? Someone who has stood by her and supported her through an unexpected teenage pregnancy the way you have? Someone who is going to help her raise the child, not out of obligation, but because he genuinely wants to? Someone who looks at her the way I've seen you look at her?" Robert sighs and moves around the counter so that he stands in front of Oliver. He reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder firmly, thinking over his next words carefully because he knows they aren't easy for him to admit. "Oliver. I know that our relationship has not always been perfect, and I know that I have not been the perfect father. I haven't always been present, or supportive. I've pushed things onto you that I knew you didn't want. I've tried to force you into being the person I wanted you to be rather than who you are. I've tried to force you into being me. And all of that… It was a mistake."

Oliver lets out a shaky breath, genuinely at a loss for words. The things he is hearing right now are things he's been wanting to hear his father say for years now. A part of him aches, though, because things between them haven't always been bad. Robert hasn't always been bad. When Oliver was three and terrified of the dark, his father bought him a night light and had made a show of checking his room for monsters every night. When he was six, he taught him how to ride a bike. Took him to his first baseball game, taught him and Tommy how to play. Told him it would be okay while sitting in the ER with a broken arm, held him close when he cried over the death of his grandmother. All of these memories, good memories, flash to the front of his mind and the corner of his mouth quirks into a smile, "Could've been worse."

Meeting his eyes, Robert tries to make sure his son understands the seriousness in his tone. "I could've been better."

He nods, lowering his eyes. "Yeah," he mutters in agreement.

"I want you to promise me something," Roberts starts, waiting until Oliver meets his eyes before continuing. "Promise me that you will be a better father than I have been, like I know you can be. Do not make the same mistakes that I've made. Be there for you family, be supportive of your daughter's dreams and ambitions. Encourage her to follow her own path in life, listen to her. Promise me."

"Yeah," Oliver nods before standing, allowing his father to pull him into a tight hug. "I promise."

* * *

Stepping through the threshold of the Queen mansion, Oliver leads his best friend into the house. He is unbelievably glad to be done with baseball and home, in desperate need of sleep; thankfully, it's a Friday so he and Tommy can both sleep in tomorrow morning. With his father being home this weekend, Tommy wants to be anywhere but there – which always leads to him sleeping in one of the guest rooms that he has unofficially claimed as his own. It even has some of his belongings in the closet and bathroom. It is his home away from home, his family away from family.

Slipping off their shoes, both boys start to head upstairs to play video games when the melodic sound of laughter echoes in from the living room. Their eyes meet and a small smile tugs at the corners of Oliver's mouth before he tilts his head in the direction of the noise. Tommy nods and they both set down their gym bags at the bottom of the staircase, moving through the house, and they both smile at the sight of the two girls in front of them.

Felicity and Thea sit next to each other on the couch, the end credits of some movie playing on the tv screen, both chuckling as another piece of popcorn bounces off of the blonde's nose as she tries to catch it in her mouth.

Gaining their attention, Tommy clears his throat. "Well hello ladies. Speedy," he nods at her, mouth forming into a smirk, "Preggers."

Rolling her eyes, Felicity turns her head towards him and arches a brow, "Preggers? Seriously?"

"I could switch to 'whale' if you prefer," he shrugs, and Oliver can't hold back the laugh that slips out.

Her eyes tick to the taller of the two, leveling him with a glare that immediately silences him. "And to think the both of you just made it onto my good side."

"Hey, why don't I get to stay?" Oliver asks with an affronted scoff.

She tries to stop her growing smile, "You're the one that brought him into my life."

He grins, "Technically you brought him into your life when you went to his party."

With a loud groan, Thea rolls her eyes before flicking them between the two, "Please stop flirting and just get a room already." Her comment makes Tommy snicker, not wanting to get scolded again, and Felicity's cheek instantly flood with heat.

"Uh," the blonde clears her throat, avoiding meeting Oliver's gaze, "We were just about to watch another movie. Do you guys want to join?"

"We were actually gonna –" Tommy starts only to be interrupted by his best friend.

"We'd love to."

He tilts his head towards Oliver and his face softens at the expression on his best friend's face, his eyes only on one thing: the beautiful blonde resting on the couch with a hand on her swollen stomach. Nodding, Tommy plops down onto one of the arm chairs, "We'd love to."

Stepping forward, Oliver places a gentle hand on Felicity's shoulder, "You guys pick the movie, I'm gonna go get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

She looks up at him, face beaming, "Mint chip?" At his slight nod, she perks up even more, "Oh! And can you cut up some pickles and sprinkle them on top? Pretty please?"

He chuckles, an affectionate smile forming as he squeezes her shoulder, "Of course."

Tommy and Thea exchange a look before the latter turns to look over the couch at her brother, calling to his back as he moves to the kitchen, "Don't worry about us, we don't need anything! We're fine!"

Ignoring her with a shake of his head and a laugh, Oliver makes his way through the house. He stops in front of the refrigerator and opens the freezer, eyes scanning over its contents and praying that someone didn't eat up the last of the mint chip ice cream. Thankfully, he spots it on the bottom shelf and grabs it, taking the jar of pickles out of the fridge. He sets both on the counter and moves around the kitchen, gathering all of the other supplies he needs for the dish. He's in the middle of scooping the ice cream when he hears someone else shuffle into the kitchen and a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. Without missing a beat, he jokes, "I know you can't control the cravings, but I don't think I'm taking that long."

"Oliver."

At the unexpected voice, he pauses and glances over his shoulder, "Oh. Hey, Mom. I thought you were Felicity."

Moira shakes her head lightly, a small smile on her face, "No, she's still in the living room with Tommy and your sister." Oliver nods and focuses back on the food. She watches her son for a few moments, taking in how relaxed his posture is. He seems so at peace. Before he can finish up and head back to the living room, Moira broaches what she wanted to talk to him about. "I spoke with your father. He told me how well you did on your test that you studied so much for. We're very proud of you, Oliver."

He grins, "Thanks. It felt pretty good seeing that A."

"I can imagine," she nods, eyes beaming with pride as meets his gaze. "Oliver, I wanted to discuss something with you."

Oliver pauses before he lets out a long sigh, putting the carton of ice cream and jar of pickles away before facing Moira. "If this is about us keeping the baby, I don't want to argue again. I'm not giving up my daughter and there's nothing you or Dad can sa—"

"—Sweetheart, no." Moira shakes her head and reaches out, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. "No. Your father and I have made peace with your decision. We accept it, and we support you."

"Oh," he furrows his brows, shoulders relaxing at her reassurance. "Okay."

At his reaction, she continues, "I was hoping we could sit down and discuss your future, Oliver. Yours and Felicity's. This is your final few months of high school and you haven't made any decisions about college yet, and you need to start thinking about that. With Felicity a year behind you, you need to consider how this will work. The closest ivy league university is Stanford, which is at least two hours. And with the baby… I'm not trying to overwhelm you – I just want you to start thinking about all of this. These are big decisions and you may think you have some time but trust me. These last few months of Felicity's pregnancy are going to fly by."

Oliver stares at her, his mind clouding. These are all the things that he's been avoiding thinking about for this exact reason, panic bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. The topic of school has been something that Felicity brought up before, and every single time, he has changed the subject before they could really decide anything. He knows what she wants to do – MIT. Going to MIT has been her dream since she was old enough to understand what college was. Not to mention how connected it makes her feel to her father; computers was always something special they had together and now that they aren't speaking, he knows how much more it means to her now. The key problem with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, though, is that it is in Massachusetts. 3,094 miles. 3,094 miles away from California. 3,094 miles from their families. 3,094 miles away from him.

His best friend's voice calling his name from the living room broke him out of his thoughts. Oliver shakes his head lightly and clears his throat, "I should get this to Felicity before it melts." Grabbing the bowl, he moves around his mom and towards the door, only stopping when she says his name. With an arched brow, he glances over his shoulder.

"Just think about it, okay, sweetheart?" Moira smiles.

"Yeah," he mutters out with a nod, continuing his way out. His mind is still racing when he rounds the corner, but it all seems to go away when he sees her. Hearing his steps, Felicity turns to gaze over the couch and her eyes immediately land on the bowl in his hand. The brightest smile he's ever seen makes its way onto her face and he can't help but mirror it, heart fluttering at the pure happiness in her eyes. He holds back a laugh at the fact that her reaction is to a bowl of ice cream and not actually him, but still. The fact that he could do anything to make her that happy is… everything.

When Oliver finally reaches the couch, she sticks her arms out and flexes her fingers at him. "Gimme, gimme, gimme," she begs, evoking a chuckle from him as he settles in next to her.

He watches as Felicity grabs the biggest spoonful of ice cream he's ever seen, pausing to pick up a pickle slice that fell off and plop it back on top, before shoveling it into her mouth. Her eyes fall shut as she closes her mouth around the spoon and moans.

"Oh my god," Felicity sighs, words muffled as she savors the perfect mint and salty pickle taste. "So good." After a few seconds and a few more bites, she feels a pair of eyes on her and tilts her head up, glancing over at Oliver. "What?"

A soft smile on his face, he gives an imperceptible shake of the head, never taking his eyes away from her. "Nothing."

* * *

 _Making his way towards the stairs, Oliver paused as he moved down the hallway, focusing his ears on what he thought he just heard. Hearing the sound again, he took a step closer to Felicity's room and pressed his ear against the door to make sure he was hearing right. Feeling sure that she was, in fact, sniffling, he knocked on the door and waited. The sound of light rustling reached his ears before she called out a faint 'come in'. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open slowly, peaking his head around before moving further inside. His eyes searched the room before quickly landing on Felicity's form sitting on her bed with her back to the door, head down._

 _"Hey," he broke the silence with a careful voice, not wanting to startle her. At her lack of a response, Oliver moved all the way into the room and closed the door behind him. He slowly made his way towards her, giving her time to ask him to leave before settling beside her. She sniffled again, lifting a hand to wipe at her wet cheeks, and he noticed she wasn't wearing her glasses. After a few moments, he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"_

 _When she didn't respond right away, he waited. He would wait for as long as she needed._

 _Sucking in a deep breath, her voice was soft when she finally spoke, "My friends are planning me a baby shower." He kept quiet, knowing that there must be something more to the story to have made her this upset. Sniffling once more, she continued, "We were talking about it and Sara… Sara started working on a guest list. She asked if there was anyone specific that I wanted to invite outside of my friends from school."_

 _Not really following where the story was going, he still listened, reaching out a hand to grab one of hers where it rested on her lap and giving it a squeeze of reassurance._

 _"She asked if I had any family that I wanted to invite."_

 _Oh. Now he understood._

 _Felicity huffed out a broken laugh, a fresh wave of tears flooding her eyes, "I realized that my own mom won't be at my baby shower."_

That incident, the hours he'd spent comforting her with movies and snacks and cuddles, is why he stood in front of the yellow house he's only been to once before. Taking in a deep breath, Oliver lifts his knuckles to the front door and waits. It feels like hours pass by before the door opens and reveals a familiar face. He clears his throat as she stares at him expectantly, a smile on her impeccably made-up face. "Hi Mrs. Smoak."

Donna Smoak arches a brow, "Hello. Can I help you?"

He nods, "My name is Oliver Queen. I wanted to talk about Felicity."

Eyes widening slightly, he can tell the moment she recognizes him, and it is only confirmed by her next words, "You came to see her a few months ago. You're a friend from school, right? Is she okay?"

Noticing the slight panic in her features, he is quick to reassure, "She's fine. I just… Can I come in?" Taking him in for a few moments, Donna nods and steps aside before closing the door behind him and leading him further into the house. She gestures for him to take a seat on the couch so he does, waiting for her to settle in the chair across from him. He takes the silence of the house as a sign that Noah Smoak isn't home, and he holds back a grateful sigh.

Watching him closely, Donna fights the urge to bite her nails, a nervous habit she thought she'd kicked years ago that recently resurfaced. Despite his reassurance, she still can't help but be filled with worry for her little girl. And then she is filled with guilt at the fact that she needs to worry; she should already know what is going on with her daughter, and the fact that she doesn't is killing her. "Felicity – she's alright?" she can't help but ask again.

Oliver nods, "She is, I promise." He pauses, building up the courage to continue. "She's actually," he clears his throat, "Felicity is healthy and safe. She's actually been living with me. With my family, I mean. At our house."

Realization dawns on her and she narrows her eyes at the young man, talking him in closer this time. She thinks back to the first and only time she'd seen him before, when he'd come to talk to Felicity about a project for school. Now, though, she remembers how flimsy that excuse had seemed, like he'd just made it up on the spot. And she remembers how surprised her daughter was to see him and how reluctant she was to talk to him. "You're the father of her baby, aren't you?" she asks bluntly.

He lets out a shaky breath, clearly nervous, before nodding, "Yes."

A million thoughts run through her mind at the confirmation. The first is that she should've seen it sooner. Looking back, it is so obvious – the signs were all there. The second is that the fact that he's here means that her daughter is going to be a mother. For real. She is going to be keeping her child, her child with this young man, and raise it. If not, why would he be here? Why would he still be involved in Felicity's life? Why would his family allow her to be living with them, in their home? That is another thing that stands out: his name. Oliver Queen. The Queen name is not something that isn't known in this city - hell, in this country.

"Did she ask you to come here?" she can't help but wonder. Did Felicity want to talk? Had she been too afraid to come herself? Was she afraid that they would scream at her? Slam the door in her face?

"No," Oliver shakes his head. "Felicity doesn't know I'm here. I wanted to talk to you."

Schooling her features to hide the slight rush of disappointment and knowing that Noah could be home any minute from running his business errands, she asks, "About?"

At the lack of emotion on her face, Oliver feels some kind of irrational anger building in the pit of his stomach. He knows about Noah and Donna's relationship, he knows how manipulative he is, of the emotional abuse Donna has been through. But still, he can't help but be angry at the façade she is putting up, acting like she doesn't care about her daughter when he knows she does. How could she not? Felicity is… remarkable in every possible way. It's impossible not to love her. Woah. He startles slightly at the word 'love' but pushes it down, knowing that now isn't the time to freak out over his own feelings.

Considering his words carefully, he tries not to let his anger come through in his tone, "About the way you and Mister Smoak have been treating her."

"I don't think that is any of your business."

"With all due respect, the way that people mistreat the mother of my child is absolutely my business," he replies without a thought. Clearly, the assertiveness in his voice surprises Donna as her mouth falls open slightly. Oliver breathes in through his nose, calming himself down. "Look, I'm not here to yell at you or try to understand what you are going through. What I am here to do is tell you that your daughter misses you."

Tears immediately cloud her vision and she avoids his gaze, tilting her chin down to stare at her lap.

Oliver scoots forward to sit on the edge of the couch, leaning forward slightly and softening his voice. "Mrs. Smoak, I don't want to make you upset. I just… I care about Felicity. And I can see how much she misses you, and how much she wishes you were around right now. She's the strongest person I've ever met and even though she'd never admit it, I know that she needs you."

A light laugh bubbles past Donna's lips, "She can be quite stubborn."

He laughs too, "Yeah, she can." After a few moments, his voice becomes serious once again. "I don't want to put myself where I don't belong," Oliver starts carefully, "But Felicity has told me a lot about her childhood. She loves you and admires you so much. And I know what your husband can be like."

At the mention of Noah, her head shoots up to meet his gaze, eyes wide.

He holds out his hands in a calming gesture at her sharp intake of breath, "I'm sorry, I just… I guess what I'm trying to ask is for you to please, please… Please just try and make things right with her." Getting the feeling that he may have overwhelmed her, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card. "I wanted to give you this," he sets it down on the coffee table. "Some of Felicity's friends are throwing her a baby shower at my house next Saturday. I know how much it would mean to her if you were there."

After another moment of silence, Oliver stands and moves around where she still sits, unmoving, and towards the front door. When he reaches it and pulls it open, he pauses. He glances over his shoulder, "It's a girl, by the way." With that he leaves, closing the door behind him with a gentle thud, leaving Donna to sit with silent tears falling down her cheeks.


End file.
